Turkish Warplanes Target PKK Positions in Northern Iraq

Turkey announced on Wednesday that its warplanes targeted several positions of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq. These airstrikes occurred a day after high-level security talks between Turkey and Iraq in Ankara. According to a statement from the Turkish Ministry of Defense, 14 suspected PKK targets in the Gara, Hakurk, and Qandil regions of northern Iraq were attacked, which included shelters and storage facilities used by PKK militants. The Turkish Ministry of Defense stated that measures were taken during this operation to prevent harm to civilians, as well as to historical or cultural heritage and the environment of the region. Prior to this news, there had been no comments from the PKK, the Iraqi government, or officials from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq regarding this matter. Today's attacks came as delegations from senior military and security officials from Turkey and Iraq discussed major security issues, including the 'PKK militant threat,' in Ankara on Tuesday. Turkey frequently conducts operations against targets in Syria and Iraq that it believes are linked to the PKK. The PKK has been at war with the Turkish government since the 1980s. Ankara believes northern Iraq has become a safe haven for PKK militants and that their leaders are based there. Turkey, the European Union, and the United States have designated this group as a terrorist organization.