Turkish Jets Bomb PKK Sites in North Iraq, Southeast Turkey

Date: 22 June 2016 - 21:25

News ID: ۲۸۱۰۶

ANKARA (Dispatches) – Turkish fighter jets have conducted fresh air strikes against the positions of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey.
The air strikes were carried out overnight on Wednesday, destroying PKK militants’ hideouts and weapon caches in the areas, security sources said.
The warplanes hit targets near the Turkish towns of Lice, in Diyarbakir Province, and Semdinli, in Hakkari Province.
The Iraqi government and semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have frequently objected to Turkey’s airstrikes on Iraq’s territory.
Ankara has been engaged in a large-scale campaign against the PKK in its southern border region in the past few months. The Turkish military has been conducting offensives against the positions of the militant group in northern Iraq as well.
On June 11, some 13 PKK militants were killed in Lice bombing. A number of militants were also injured in the attack.
Turkey’s operations began in the wake of a deadly July 2015 bombing in the southern town of Suruc.
More than 30 people died in the attack, which the Turkish government blamed on the ISIL Takfiri terrorist group.
After the bombing, the PKK engaged in a series of attacks against Turkish police and security forces, prompting the Turkish military operations.
A shaky ceasefire between Ankara and the PKK that had stood since 2013 was declared null and void by the militants following the Turkish strikes against the group.
The PKK has been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region in southeastern Turkey since 1984. The conflict has left more than 40,000 people dead.