Turkey says it killed three PKK members in northern Iraq

Defence ministry says two aircraft detected and destroyed ‘terror targets’ with ties to the PKK.

Turkish army jet
Turkey's defence ministry says its jets destroyed several arms caches with air raids [File: AP]

Turkey attacked positions of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq and three PKK members were killed.

Weapons including rocket launchers, hand grenades, and assault rifles were destroyed, the Turkish defence ministry said on Saturday.

Late on Friday, two fighter jets detected and destroyed “terror targets” with ties to the PKK and the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in the Avasin and Baysan regions, a statement said.

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“Eagles of the skies are always on duty. Mission has been successfully completed,” the ministry added, sharing footage of F-16 jets targeting mountain hideouts.

Turkey recently launched Operation Claw-Tiger and Operation Claw-Eagle, parallel offensives targeting the PKK in northern Iraq.

The PKK is based in the Qandil Mountains in Iraq near the Iranian border and is considered a “terrorist” organisation by Turkey, the European Union, and the United States.

At least 40,000 people have died in the three-decade conflict between the PKK and Turkey. After a peace process collapsed in 2015, ending a two-year ceasefire, the government said it would not return to talks with the group.

Since then, Turkey has regularly targeted the PKK in the predominantly Kurdish southeast and attacked its positions in northern Iraq.

Source: News Agencies