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Turkish air strikes hit PKK, YPG targets in Iraq and Syria - 300 dead
Turkish air strikes hit PKK, YPG targets in Iraq and Syria
Air strikes kill 30 PKK terrorists in Syria and 40 in Iraq's Sinjar region, according to the Turkish military.
Turkish war planes bombed PKK and YPG targets in Iraq's Sinjar region and in northeastern Syria respectively on Tuesday. Around 30 PKK terrorists were killed in Syria and 40 in Iraq, according to the Turkish military.
The strikes are part of a widening campaign against groups affiliated with the PKK, designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US and EU.
The air strikes in Syria targeted the YPG - a key component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are backed by the United States and have been closing in on the Daesh bastion of Raqqa.
An earlier statement by the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group had said that least 18 YPG fighters and media officials were killed in the raids. There was no immediate casualty report from the YPG.
Targeting "hot beds of terrorism"
Turkey's military said its armed forces had targeted the PKK in northern Iraq and northeastern Syria early on Tuesday.
The office of the Turkish General Staff said in a statement that the counter-terrorism strikes were carried out around 2:00 am local time (2300 GMT) on Tuesday to target PKK sites on the Sinjar Mountain in northern Iraq and on Karacok Mountain in northeastern Syria.
The aim of the strikes was to prevent the PKK from sending weapons and explosives for attacks inside Turkey, the statement said.
The air operation was conducted "within the scope of international law" and "with the aim of destroying the hot beds of terrorism which target the unity, integrity, and safety of our country and nation," the statement read.
The PKK has waged an on and off three-decade insurgency against the Turkish state. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
TRT World 's Ediz Tiyansan reports from the southeastern city of Mardin near Turkey's border with Syria.
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