Turkey carried out a series of airstrikes in neighboring Iraq and Syria on Saturday, the Defense Ministry said. The airstrikes came as the United States and other countries launched separate airstrikes in Yemen on Friday and Saturday.
According to the Turkish Defense Ministry, the aircraft struck Kurdish militant targets in Metina, Hakluk, Gala and Qandil in northern Iraq. The airstrike was carried out in response to an attack on a Turkish military base in Iraq that killed nine Turkish soldiers.
The Defense Ministry said its warplanes destroyed caves, bunkers, shelters and oil facilities “to eliminate terrorist attacks against the population and security forces and ensure border security.” The statement said “many” militants had been “neutralized”. He made no mention of attacks in Syria.
The ministry said the targets were members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), an outlawed Kurdish separatist group that maintains bases in northern Iraq. The PKK is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and other Turkish allies in Europe.
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The Turkish Air Force's aerobatic demonstration teams “Turkish Stars” and “Çelik Kanatral” pay tribute to the Turkish soldiers killed in the Battle of Sarkamus in World War I in Kars, Turkiye on January 7th. Perform a demonstration flight. 2024. (Hilmi Tunahan Karakaya/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Local news outlets reported that the attack took place in a different area from where the base was attacked on Friday.
The Erbil-based Iraqi news website Rudaw reported that the base attacked on Friday was located on Mount Zap in Amedi district, about 16 miles from the Turkish border.
Kars, Turkiye – January 7: Turkish Stars and Çelik Kanatoral aerobatic demonstration teams of the Turkish Air Force conduct a demonstration flight in memory of Turkish soldiers killed in the Battle of Sarkamus in World War I. , was held to commemorate the 109th anniversary of Operation Sarkamus in Turkey. January 7, 2024, Kars, Tolkier. (Omer Tarssur/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Turkish state news agency Anadolu reported that PKK leaders had been “neutralized” in Iraq, about 160 miles inside Turkey's border with Iraq.
Turkey's defense ministry said five soldiers were killed in an attack on a military base in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq on Friday night. Four more soldiers were subsequently seriously injured and died. The ministry said 15 militants were also killed in the attack.
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Mugra, Turkey – January 12: A military helicopter takes part in the press stage of the military exercise Seawolf (Deniz Kurdu) in Turkkiye on January 12, 2024 in Mugra, Turkiye. (Orhan Cicek/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan expressed his condolences on the death of the Turkish soldier on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
“We will fight to the end against the PKK terrorist organization both within and outside our borders,” he said. Turkey frequently launches attacks against targets believed to be linked to the PKK.
Earlier, Turkish officials announced that PKK-aligned militants had attempted to infiltrate a Turkish base in northern Iraq three weeks ago. Six Turkish soldiers were killed in the attack. The next day, six more Turkish soldiers were killed in clashes.
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Defense Minister Yasar Güler said at the time that Turkish forces responded to the attack by launching airstrikes and ground attacks that killed dozens of Kurdish militants.
This photo shows smoke rising over a field following a reported Turkish drone attack near the town of al-Qakhtaniyah in northeastern Syria's Hasakah province, near the border with Turkey, on November 23, 2022. There is. (GIHAD DARWISH/AFP via Getty Images)
Tensions have been rising across the Middle East since the Israel-Hamas war began in October.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
