News EditorThe Turkish defence ministry has confirmed that its jets conducted airstrikes in northern Iraq and northern Syria, targeting positions linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The strikes come in response to an attack earlier today in Ankara, where suspected PKK militants set off explosives and opened fire at Turkey’s state-run defence company, TUSAS, resulting in the deaths of five people.
In total, 32 PKK targets were hit, with the ministry reporting that “many” militants were killed. Aerial operations are ongoing, according to Turkish officials.
Senior Turkish ministers have attributed the Ankara attack to the PKK, though the group has not officially claimed responsibility.
The PKK has been engaged in an armed struggle for autonomy in southeastern Turkey since the 1980s, a conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives. Turkey, along with its Western allies, designates the PKK as a terrorist organization.
