ANKARA, Turkey, Sept. 8 (UPI) — Turkish fighter planes conducted airstrikes targeting rebel Kurdish bases in northern Iraq, killing about 40 PKK fighters, Turkish officials said.
Dozens of Turkey’s F-4 and F-16 aircraft conducted six hours of airstrikes, bombing Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) bases across the border in an attack meant to “wipe out” PKK strongholds at the villages of Qandil, Basyan, Avashin and Zap, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said.
The airstrikes were in response to PKK bombs that killed at least 16 Turkish soldiers near Daglica, Turkey, on the Iraq border, Sunday. Twelve police officers also died Tuesday in an attack on a bus near the Azerbaijan border.
“Those mountains will be cleared of these terrorists. Whatever it takes, they will be cleared,” Davutoglu said.
More than 40,000 people have died since 1984 in the conflict between Turkey and the PKK, which seeks an independent Kurdish state within Turkey. Anti-PKK demonstrations took place Monday in major Turkish cities, including an attack on the office of Turkey’s pro-PKK Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).
The HDP’s first attempt at parliamentary politics, earlier this year, drew 13 percent of the votes, denying the dominant Justice and Development Party of a majority. There are fears a Nov. 1 election will prompt additional violence, especially in the largely Kurdish eastern part of the country.
Turkey launched a major offensive against PKK in July, prompting concerns by the United States and the European Union over human rights violations.
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