Turkiye strikes Kurdish militant targets in Iraq, neutralizes multiple fighters
Shafaq News/On Tuesday, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that it had destroyed 20targets belonging to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) during airstrikes inIraq's Kurdistan region.
In astatement, the ministry detailed that the operations targeted PKK bases in theAsos, Gara, Hakurk, Metina, Qandil, and Zap regions. The strikes also hitcaves, shelters, hideouts, depots, and other facilities used by the militants.
The strikesalso neutralized numerous militants, according to the ministry.
The term"neutralized" is commonly used in such contexts to indicate that themilitants were either killed or wounded.
The PKKmaintains strongholds in Iraq's Kurdistan region, where Turkiye has had amilitary presence for 25 years.
The PKK,designated a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the United States, and theEuropean Union, launched an insurgency against Ankara in 1984 with the initialaim of creating an independent Kurdish state. Over time, the group adjusted itsgoals to seek autonomy in southeastern Turkiye. The conflict, which has claimedover 40,000 lives, was initially concentrated in rural areas of southeasternTurkiye but has increasingly shifted to the mountainous regions of northernIraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan.
Turkiye hasconducted cross-border military operations for years, effectively controllingor overseeing large portions of the Syrian and Iraqi territories borderingTurkiye. Last month, Ankara announced a military cooperation agreement withIraq, which includes establishing joint training and command centers. Baghdadalso stated that it had decided to ban the PKK as a political party.
