PKK elements operating in the mountains of the Kurdistan Region are endangering the lives of villagers, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said Saturday.Four civilians were killed on Thursday in a Turkish airstrike near the village of Kurtak at the foot of the Qandil Mountains, where the PKK is headquartered, according to Rudaw.The KRG voiced its deep concern over the deaths, blaming the PKK for putting locals in harm's way."The presence of PKK fighters in these areas, intentionally approaching and visiting villages and inhabited areas, recklessly endangering the lives of the villagers in these areas," read the KRG statement published early on Saturday. The KRG "will not tolerate or allow its soil to be used for attacking or stirring the security of neighboring countries which will put the lives of the Kurdistan Region’s people in danger," it added.The KRG said border villages should not be turned into a battlefield and the PKK should stay away from villages and not endanger their lives. "We hope it will not happen again."Civilians are frequently caught in the crossfire between Turkey and the PKK and hundreds of villages have been emptied to escape the fighting. Baghdad and Erbil have both called on Turkey to halt its attacks, while simultaneously demanding the PKK leave their territories.Turkey launched Operation Claw in late May to drive the PKK away from its border with the Kurdistan Region.

ILKHA