Turkey targets Kurdish positions

Ankara, Feb. 2: Turkish warplanes struck suspected Kurdish militant positions in Iraq and Syria early on Wednesday in a new aerial offensive which officials said aimed to protect Turkey’s borders from terrorist threats.

A Turkish defense ministry statement said the strikes hit targets on Sinjar Mountain in northern Iraq and the Derik and Karacak regions in northern Syria. The operations in northern Iraq were aimed against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq, and the People’s Protection Units, or YPG in Syria. The targets struck included shelters, caves, tunnels, ammunition depots, bases and training camps, the ministry said.

The YPG is a close US ally against IS but is seen by Ankara as a terrorist group because of its ties to Turkey’s Kurdish rebels.

The strikes aimed to “eliminate terrorist attacks against our people and security forces from the north of Iraq and Syria and to ensure our border security,” the ministry statement read. All planes returned to their bases safely, the ministry said.

It did not provide any information concerning any casualties from the strikes but said “utmost sensitivity was shown” regarding the security of the civilians during the operations.

The defence ministry said Turkey would “continue the fight against terrorism for the security of our country and our nation with determination until the last terrorist is neutralised.” Turkey has carried out similar cross-border airstrikes in the past.

● A TURKISH defence ministry statement said the strikes hit targets on Sinjar Mountain in northern Iraq and the Derik and Karacak regions in northern Syria