Turkey Attacks PKK Positions in Northern Iraq; 20 Arrested in Istanbul and Other Cities

Following a Sunday attack by Kurdish militants in Ankara, Turkey reported airstrikes on the positions of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq and the arrest of 20 individuals in Turkey suspected of links to the organization in Istanbul and other cities. Two Kurdish militants carried out a suicide attack on Sunday morning, injuring two Turkish police officers in front of the Ministry of Interior in Ankara, who were subsequently killed. Hours after the attack, a group close to the PKK, named 'Jawidan Brigade,' claimed responsibility. CCTV footage shows a vehicle stopping in front of the Turkish Ministry of Interior, and one of the occupants quickly approached the building after exiting the vehicle. Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya stated that one of the attackers was killed during the explosion, and the second attacker was also killed by Turkish security forces. Hours after this suicide attack, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that it had 'neutralized' several members of the PKK in airstrikes on their positions in the Metina, Hakurk, Qandil, and Gara regions of Iraqi Kurdistan. In recent years, Turkey has increased its military bases in northern Iraq and intensified airstrikes against PKK positions in Iraqi Kurdistan, as well as against officials and members of the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, which are the main allies of the United States in the fight against ISIS in Syria. Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid condemned the Turkish airstrikes in northern Iraq on Monday and expressed hope for an agreement to resolve the issue. Meanwhile, the Turkish Interior Minister announced the arrest of 20 individuals suspected of links to the PKK in Istanbul and other cities. The PKK was founded in 1979 by a group of mainly Kurdish students and began armed activities in 1984 to gain rights for Kurds in Turkey. Over the past four decades of violent conflict between the Turkish army and the PKK, more than 40,000 Turkish citizens, mainly Kurds, have been killed, and hundreds of thousands have been forced to relocate from predominantly Kurdish areas in eastern and southeastern Turkey to other regions of the country and other countries worldwide. The PKK is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union. The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), which has been repeatedly accused by Turkish officials of being close to the PKK, has the second-highest number of seats in the Turkish parliament after the ruling Justice and Development Party led by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Republican People's Party led by Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.