Some 50 Turkish Warplanes Attack Kurdish Militants in Northern Iraq

About 50 warplanes from the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) attacked militants from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) overnight into Tuesday in northern Iraq, a Turkish television channel reported, citing military sources.

ANKARA (Sputnik) — The airstrikes targeted at least 20 PKK positions in the Iraqi northern regions of Qandil, Hakurk, Avashin, Basyan, Metina, Gare and Zap, the sources told the broadcaster NTV. The bombings were conducted all night long and resulted in the deaths of at least 40 militants.

The operation comes two days after PKK fighters attacked two TAF vehicles in Turkey's southeastern Hakkari Province on Sunday, in which at least 16 people were killed.

In July, after a two-year ceasefire, Ankara launched a military campaign against the PKK in northern Iraq and in southern Turkey, following the murders of police officers in the Turkish city of Ceylanpinar by Kurdish militants.

The PKK, based in Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan, was founded in the late 1970s with the aim of obtaining self-determination for the Kurdish community. The group is considered to be a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and NATO.