Turkiye strikes Kurdish militant targets in Iraq, neutralizes multiple fighters
![Turkiye strikes Kurdish militant targets in Iraq, neutralizes multiple fighters](https://arcellabucket.fra1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/media/arcella/1725339753352.jpg)
Shafaq News/ On Tuesday, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that it had destroyed 20 targets belonging to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) during airstrikes in Iraq's Kurdistan region.
In a statement, the ministry detailed that the operations targeted PKK bases in the Asos, Gara, Hakurk, Metina, Qandil, and Zap regions. The strikes also hit caves, shelters, hideouts, depots, and other facilities used by the militants.
The strikes also neutralized numerous militants, according to the ministry.
The term "neutralized" is commonly used in such contexts to indicate that the militants were either killed or wounded.
The PKK maintains strongholds in Iraq's Kurdistan region, where Turkiye has had a military presence for 25 years.
The PKK, designated a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the United States, and the European Union, launched an insurgency against Ankara in 1984 with the initial aim of creating an independent Kurdish state. Over time, the group adjusted its goals to seek autonomy in southeastern Turkiye. The conflict, which has claimed over 40,000 lives, was initially concentrated in rural areas of southeastern Turkiye but has increasingly shifted to the mountainous regions of northern Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan.
Turkiye has conducted cross-border military operations for years, effectively controlling or overseeing large portions of the Syrian and Iraqi territories bordering Turkiye. Last month, Ankara announced a military cooperation agreement with Iraq, which includes establishing joint training and command centers. Baghdad also stated that it had decided to ban the PKK as a political party.