Eight PKK militants killed by Turkish Air Force in northern Iraq

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

The Turkish Air Force conducted an operation in northern Iraq, killing at least eight outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants, a statement said on Sept. 5.

According to the statement issued by the Turkish General Staff, the air force launched a counter-terrorism operation on Sept. 4 after detecting presence of PKK militants in the Zap area.

It said the militants were plotting an assault at the military base on the Turkey-Iraq border.

In another operation, two PKK militants were killed in the southeastern province of Şırnak on Sept. 4, the governor’s office said in a statement.

According to the statement, the gendarmerie launched an operation on the evening of Sept. 4 after receiving information of the PKK’s presence in the central district of the Şırnak province.

The militants were killed during the operation in the Tahtakayalıkları area in Şırnak.

Additionally, two PKK militants were killed in the southeastern province of Hakkari on Sept. 3.

One PKK militant surrendered in Mardin’s Nusaybin district on the same day and another one was killed in Diyarbakir’s Lice district, according to the statement.     

It has come to light that the PKK militant killed in the operation in Diyarbakır was one of the militants who was responsible for the explosion in the Dürümlü village of the province’s Sur district that took place in May 2016 and killed 16 villagers.

Meanwhile, 27 militants were killed across Turkey during the week, the Interior Ministry said in a statement on Sept. 4.

In addition, 10 surrendered and six have been captured since Aug. 28.
 
The ministry’s statement did not specify the groups involved but Turkey is struggling against the PKK, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ).

During those operations, 243 people were detained on suspicions of aiding and abetting, and having suspected links to terrorist organizations.

Anti-drugs teams across Turkey have conducted 2,032 operations, the statement added, leading to the seizure of more than 1,500 kilograms of cannabis, 150 kilograms of heroin, eight kilograms of methamphetamine, more than 1.4 million kilograms of ganja and nearly 245,000 pills.