Hewlêr Attack ... Who is beneficiary?

On February 15^th, missiles fell near Hewlêr International Airport, and the Ministry of the Interior of the Kurdistan Regional Government said that “at 09:30 in the evening on Monday February 15^th, 2021, a number of missiles were launched towards the city of Hewlêr and its suburbs, as they fell on many sites, "and he explained that the concerned authorities are still continuing their follow-up and investigations in this regard.”

At dawn on February 16^th, the security forces discovered the vehicle that was used to launch the missiles and four other Katyusha rockets that had not been launched towards Hewlêr.

On the other hand, the US-led international coalition confirmed that 14 missiles fell on the US base at Hewlêr Airport, and announced that a foreign civilian contractor was killed and five others were wounded, in addition to an American soldier, as a result of the attack.

Unidentified groups adopt!

Later, an unknown group calling itself the Saraya Awliyaa al-Dem (Owners of Blood) claimed responsibility for the attack on Al Qaeda, saying that it had targeted the "American occupation" in Iraq, without providing any evidence for its claim. Reports differed about the affiliation of this group, at a time some associate it with brigades of Iran-backed Iraqi Hezbollah, others indicate that it is an unknown group and may be not existed in reality.

On the other hand, Iran said in a statement, on Tuesday, that it "opposes any actions that harm the security of Iraq. It denied that some Iraqi authorities indicated their links to an unknown group that claimed responsibility for the attack in the city of Hewlêr.”

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Saeed Khatib Zadah, stressed to official media that "Iran considers the stability and security of Iraq a crucial issue for the region, and rejects any action that undermines peace and security in that country." The Foreign Ministry condemned what it described as "suspicious attempts to attribute the attack to Iran.”

A Turkish role to scatter cards

In this context, the professor of political science and international relations, Dr. Raed Al-Masry, said, "The Hewlêr issue falls within the context of the regional race through the collection by each country of pressure papers and the gains it reserves to put on the negotiating table in the future.”|

He explained that "the closest to the analytical point of view is the Turkish role that wants to scatter the cards in Iraq after the door was closed on the Syrian side and the adoption of immediate and phased tactics between the Syrian Democratic Forces and the central Syrian state mediated by the Russian side, which weakened Ankara's ability to influence and pressure the Syrian file after completing Astana negotiations.”

What is the link between Hewlêr and Garê attacks?

It is striking that the attacks on Hewlêr International Airport came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened, on the morning of February 15^th, to launch new occupational attacks in Syria, Başûr Kurdistan and Şengal Mountains, after he claimed that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) killed 13 civilians in Garê Mounts. This was denied by the party and confirmed that the prison housed military and security forces and from the Turkish intelligence forces, and they were subjected to Turkish bombardment with chemical weapons, the purpose of which was to kill the prisoners, not to release them.

In this context, Dr. Raed Al-Masry asserts, "The bombardment of Hewlêr Airport comes in response to the killing of the 13 Turks and after Erdogan's threats and his attempt to expand militarily towards Iraq and Qandil Mounts, armed with what he called counter-terrorism operations against his country.”

Turkey wants to exploit the American vacuum

Al-Masry pointed out that Turkey wants to put the Iraqi government and Tehran in the corner at the same time "as long as the space for US military maneuver on the land of Iraq is narrow," and thus Erdogan can compensate for this vacuum.

He added, "The attack is an attempt to shuffle the cards on the Iraqi security arena and share regional influence at the expense of Iraq, its unity and its strategic security.”

The professor of Political Science and International Relations, Dr. Raed Al-Masry, said at the conclusion of his speech that "there is a rampant in the region whose direction is escalation, to complete all the negotiating files for the gradual American transition to confront China's strategy in the South China Sea and whoever has the keys to power controls the game and the decision of the Middle East.”

D.H

ANHA