Turkish Airstrikes Kill Six PKK Militants in Northern Iraq - General Staff

Six militants of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were killed in northern Iraq after Turkish airstrikes, according to the statement of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces.

ANKARA (Sputnik) — Turkish aircraft on Wednesday hit Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) targets in northern Iraq, killing six militants, the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces said in a statement, obtained by Sputnik.

"Following the assessment of the intelligence data at [05:38 — 05:56 GMT] on April 26, an air operation was carried out in northern Iraq's Zap region against members of the separatist terrorist organization (PKK). During the operation, terrorist shelters as well as six members of the organization were destroyed," the statement read.

On Tuesday, the Turkish General Staff said about 70 Kurdish fighters were killed as a result of the airstrikes in the northeast of Syria and the north of Iraq.

Tensions between Turkey and Kurds escalated in July 2015 when a ceasefire between Ankara and the PKK collapsed because of a series of terror attacks allegedly committed by PKK members. The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization in Turkey, the United States and the European Union.