Turkish jets bomb PKK targets in northern Iraq

ANKARA / MARDIN, Turkey

Turkish warplanes have destroyed PKK targets in northern Iraq on Saturday, the military has said.

In a statement, the Turkish General Staff said four F-16 and 14 F-4 jets carried out the raids on positions in Qandil, Hakkurk and Avasin between 23:00 p.m. and 1:40 a.m. local time (2000 and 2240 GMT Friday).

It added that a pair of F-4 warplanes also carried out two airstrikes on PKK terrorist bases in the rural Guneycam area of the southeastern province of Sirnak.

Separately, Turkey’s military also confirmed that one of its soldiers was martyred in an anti-terror operation against the PKK in southeast Turkey on Saturday.

According to a Turkish General Staff statement, the operation was in Mardin province’s Nusaybin district, close to the Syrian border. The location has been a focus of counter-terrorism operations since March 14.

The military also reported that several terrorists in the southeast were killed on Friday.

Six out of eight were killed in Nusaybin and the two others were killed in Sirnak by Turkish security forces.

Explosives, illegal firearms and ammunition plus medical equipment were discovered.

Turkey’s southeast has been the scene of significant anti-terror operations since late 2015, as the police and army seek to clear PKK terrorists from urban areas.

The PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU – resumed its 30-year armed campaign against the Turkish state in July last year. Since then more than 400 members of the security forces have been martyred and more than 3,700 PKK terrorists killed.