Turkish Air Force Killed 57 PKK Fighters in Iraq on January 13-14

The Turkish General Staff said Ankara's airstrikes had killed 57 PKK fighters on January 13-14 in an area in Iraq.

ANKARA (Sputnik) – A total of 57 Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighters were killed in airstrikes carried out by Turkish forces on January 13-14 in the Metina region of northern Iraq, the Turkish General Staff said Friday.

"Airstrikes on the separatist terror group (PKK) targets killed 57 terrorists, injured a vast number of the fighters in the Metina region on January 13-14," the General Staff said, adding that several defensive positions which had been used by the fighters were damaged.

Armed conflict between the Turkish army and the pro-independence PKK, listed as terrorist group by Ankara, resumed in 2015 and has resulted in elimination of some 10,000 PKK members, according to the General Staff estimates.

The Kurds are living in parts of Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria. In Turkey, they represent the largest ethnic minority, and are striving to create their own independent state.

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