Ankara (AFP) – Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq Monday, as Ankara pressed its military operation against Islamic State jihadists and a Syrian Kurdish militia in neighbouring Syria, state media said.
Turkish air force jets launched strikes between 09:30 and 10:55 GMT against targets of the “separatist terrorist organisation” in Gara in northern Iraq, Anadolu news agency said, referring to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The targets were “destroyed”, Anadolu added.
The PKK is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the European Union and the United States and its command is based in the Qandil mountains of northern Iraq.
A two-year ceasefire between Ankara and the PKK collapsed last year, after which Kurdish rebels launched frequent attacks on security forces in the restive southeast.
Since Wednesday, Turkey has been conducting an operation in Syria against IS and the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).
The air strikes in northern Iraq were the first since the Syria operation began on Wednesday.
Turkey describes the YPG as a “terrorist organisation” and an offshoot of the PKK. With US air support, the group has successfully fought against IS, taking territory from the group in north Syria.
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