According to the government, Turkish warplanes have bombed 20 PKK positions in northern Iraq. The attacks were apparently a response to the attack in Ankara, which was attributed to the PKK.
A few hours after an attack in Ankara, Turkish warplanes carried out air strikes in northern Iraq. Parts of the Bradost region were bombed, as was the village of Badran, the mayor of the city of Sidakan, which is close to the borders with Turkey and Iran, Ihsan Tschalabi, told the AFP news agency.
The Turkish Defense Ministry said it had bombed 20 positions of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq. “Air strikes were carried out against the “PKK and other terrorist elements” in the regions of Metina, Hakurk, Kandil and Gara in northern Iraq “in order to prevent terrorist attacks from northern Iraq on our population and our law enforcement forces and to ensure the security of our borders ” said the statement.
The ministry invoked the right to self-defense. The PKK has its headquarters in the Qandil Mountains in northern Iraq.
Conflict that has been going on for decades
On Sunday morning, an attacker blew himself up in front of the Turkish Interior Ministry. The Turkish government said police officers killed another attacker with a shot in the head. Two police officers were slightly injured in connection with the attack. In the evening, the PKK-affiliated news agency ANF distributed an alleged letter of responsibility from the PKK.
Thousands of people have been killed in the decades-long conflict between the PKK and the Turkish state. Turkey regularly carries out military operations against the PKK in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq. This in turn repeatedly carries out attacks, especially on Turkish security forces. But civilians also die. The PKK is classified as a terrorist organization by Turkey and Western allies.