Turkey launches fresh round of airstrikes on PKK after Ankara bombing attack

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Ankara, (Asian independent) Turkish forces carried out a fresh round of airstrikes on the targets of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, Turkey’s Defence Ministry said.

The airstrikes destroyed 16 targets of the group, including caves, bunkers, shelters and warehouses, the Ministry said on Tuesday in a statement.

“Air operations were carried out against terrorist targets in the Metina, Gara, Hakurk, Qandil and Asos regions in the north of Iraq,” said the statement.

Two terrorists carried out a bombing attack in front of the Interior Ministry’s building in the Turkish capital Ankara on Sunday, slightly injuring two police officers. One attacker died after he set off the suicide bomb, while the other bomber was shot dead by the police. One of the attackers was identified as a member of the PKK, said the Interior Ministry.

Soon after the bombing attack, Turkish forces carried out airstrikes and destroyed 20 targets of the PKK in northern Iraq, Turkish Defence Ministry said on Sunday.

The Turkish forces frequently carry out ground operations, airstrikes and artillery bombardments in northern Iraq against the PKK, especially in the Qandil Mountains, the main base of the group, Xinhua news agency reported.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US, and the European Union, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for more than three decades.