Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq on Tuesday, the latest in a series of cross border air strikes, Turkey’s army said.‘Intensive’ strikes targeted Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) positions in the Zap-Sivi, Avasin-Basyan and Hakurk regions, said a statement on its website, AFP reported. “The aircraft returned safely to base after successfully completing their mission,” it said, adding that “maximum care” was taken to avoid civilian casualties. It gave no toll.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday, “We hope this fight against terrorism will end soon but we don’t know how much longer it will last.”
This was the fourth air strike against PKK targets in northern Iraq the Turkish military has confirmed since December 16, in addition to a cross-border ground operation to stop a group of militants attempting to infiltrate Turkey.