The Turkish Air Force carried out new airstrikes against Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq and northern Syria, responding to the killing of 9 Turkish soldiers in the latest attack by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The Turkish Ministry of Defence announced in a statement that its fighter jets hit 24 targets last night in the regions of Metina, Hakurk, Karay, Avasin, and Qandil in northern Iraq, as well as striking targets in northern Syria. The Ministry spoke of a large number of casualties among those it described as “terrorists.”
Among those targets were caves, hideouts, ammunition depots, and gas factories used by the PKK fighters, according to the statement.
The ministry added that the sites targeted were believed to be locations where “terrorist” leaders were present.
Hours after the killing of 9 Turkish soldiers on Saturday in an attack by the PKK on a Turkish base in far northern Iraq, the Turkish Air Force launched strikes on PKK targets in Iraq and the Syrian People’s Protection Units (YPG), which control areas in northern Syria that Turkey considers an extension of the PKK.
The Turkish Defence Ministry had stated that the first wave of air raids targeted 54 Kurdish militant positions and resulted in the deaths of 57 militants.
