Turkish fighter jets hit PKK bases in northern Iraq

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

Reuters Photo

Turkish airstrikes have targeted and destroyed bases belonging to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, the Turkish General Staff said on its website on Sept. 23.

Fighter jets hit bunkers and weapons caches in the Hakurk region belonging to the PKK on Sept. 22, according to the statement.

The PKK, which is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, renewed its armed campaign in late July, by bringing an end to the more than two-year-old Kurdish peace process.

According to the armed forces, around 1,200 militants have been killed in ground and air operations in Turkey and northern Iraq. Meanwhile, more than 120 members of the security forces have been killed since the attacks began.

This attack came a day after Turkish fighter jets hit PKK bases in the Sinat-Haftanin area in Iraq’s north, destroying PKK shelters, ammunition depots and warehouses, security sources said, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. 

The targets hit by Turkish F-16 and F-4 2020 fighter jets were determined over intelligence and images gathered by drones and other intelligence sources. The fighter jets hit four targets simultaneously and fire and explosions erupting from a strike on an ammunition warehouse lasted for 55 minutes, with smoke rising into the air.

The strikes posed a critical move to destroy one of the most significant logistics facilities of the outlawed organization.