Turkey conducts airstrikes against PKK in Qandil region

ANKARA

The Turkish armed forces has conducted airstrikes targeting outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) positions in northern Iraq, the Turkish General Staff said on its official Twitter account on Aug. 9.

“As a result of an air operation conducted on Aug. 8 in the Qandil region in northern Iraq, targets used by the separatist terror organization as shelter, hideout, weapon emplacement and ammunition depot were destroyed,” it said.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has been using their camps in the Qandil Mountains as command centers in its attacks on Turkey.

In response, Turkey has been conducting frequent airstrikes and land control operations inside northern Iraqi territory near the border since March.

Separately, at least eight PKK militants were neutralized on Aug. 8 in eastern and southeastern Turkey, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Turkish authorities often use the word “neutralized” to imply that the militants in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.

Security forces launched an anti-terror operation in eastern Erzurum province’s Karayazi district on Aug. 6, according to a statement by the provincial governor’s office.

Two militants were neutralized during the operation, while a security officer received minor injuries, it said.

Security forces also seized a gun silencer, two rounds of a magazine, two thermal cameras, hand-made explosives, and various materials including cables, umbrellas, and sleeping bags during the operation.

In the southeastern Hakkari province, two militants determined to be responsible for killing a special operations officer last week were neutralized, according to the governor’s office.

The statement also said that the body of a female militant, along with weapons and ammunition, was found in the Şemdinli district.

Turkish security forces intensified operations against the PKK since mid-2015 when a peace process between the Turkish government and the PKK collapsed.