Turkey Launches Airstrikes Against Kurdish Militants in Iraq
The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced on Monday that the country had carried out a new round of airstrikes targeting Kurdish militants in neighboring Iraq. The airstrikes, which reportedly killed 16 militants, were directed at suspected positions of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the regions of Hakurk, Metina, and Gara within Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region.
The ministry stated that Turkey is determined to eliminate the threat posed by the PKK and rescue the country from this ongoing problem. This latest military action comes just weeks after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's first visit to Iraq in 12 years, during which he sought greater cooperation from Baghdad in the fight against the militants.
The PKK, designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies, has been engaged in an armed conflict for Kurdish autonomy in southeastern Turkey since 1984. This conflict has resulted in the tragic loss of tens of thousands of lives.
While the Iraqi government has long condemned Turkish military actions in Iraq as violations of its sovereignty, it appears to be tolerating Ankara's recent operations. Following a meeting between the Iraqi and Turkish foreign ministers in March, Baghdad announced a ban on the PKK by the Iraqi National Security Council, though it stopped short of officially labeling the group as a terrorist organization.