ANKARA

Turkey’s air force carried out airstrikes on PKK terrorist bases in northern Iraq early Monday, the military said, hours after a car bomb in capital Ankara killed dozens of people.

In a statement on its website, the Turkish General Staff said 11 F-16 and F-4 jets bombed 18 PKK positions in Gara and Qandil, where the group has its main headquarters.

At least 37 were killed in an explosion at Ankara’s Kizilay Square at 6.45 p.m. local time (1645GMT) Sunday. On Monday morning, the health ministry said 71 were still being treated in hospitals.

The attack targeted an area around Ankara’s busiest metro station, a major public transport hub where there are dozens of bus stops.

There has been no claim of responsibility.

Last month, a car bomb targeting military buses killed 29 people in Ankara and in October a twin suicide bombing killed 103 people at a peace rally in the city.

The PKK - listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU - resumed its 30-year armed campaign against Turkey in July. Since then, more than 290 members of the security forces have been martyred and thousands of terrorists killed.