Turkish jets destroy 16 PKK targets in northern Iraq

By Yasemin Kalyoncuoglu

ANKARA

Turkish jets destroyed at least 16 PKK terror group’s targets in northern Iraq, the military said on Tuesday.

The Turkish General Staff said in a statement that the airstrikes were carried out on Monday in the Sinath-Haftanin region of northern Iraq.

A total of 16 shelters, hideouts, and weapons pits used by the terrorist organization were destroyed during the airstrikes, the statement added.

It also said the terror group members were plotting an attack on Turkish military and their bases in the region.

Airstrikes on PKK targets in northern Iraq, where the terror group has its main base in the Mt. Qandil region, near the Iranian border, have been carried out regularly since July 2015, when the PKK resumed its armed campaign.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey as well as the U.S. and the EU. In its terror campaign against Turkey, which has lasted for more than three decades, over 40,000 people have been killed, including women and children.

The airstrikes take place amid the Turkish-led Operation Olive Branch across the Turkish border into northwestern Syria, targeting the threat of the Syrian branch of the PKK, the terrorist PYD/PKK.