Turkey Launches Airstrikes on PKK Camps after Ceasefire Move
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Turkish military said Sunday it had carried out airstrikes on Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) targets in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq, a day after the militant group told its fighters to halt guerrilla activities in Turkey.
PKK shelters and gun positions were destroyed Sunday during airstrikes in the Metina and Zap areas of northern Iraq, while 14 PKK militants were killed in strikes in the Lice area of southeast Turkey Saturday, the military statement said, Reuters reported.
The attacks came as Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group on Saturday called on its fighters to halt guerrilla activities in Turkey unless they face an attack.
The leadership of a PKK umbrella group said the decision was taken in response to calls from in and outside Turkey and that its fighters would avoid acts which could prevent a "fair and just election" being held on Nov. 1.
95 people were killed on Saturday when twin explosions hit a rally of hundreds of pro-Kurdish and leftist activists at Ankara's main train station in what the government said was a terrorist attack.
Designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and European Union, the PKK launched a separatist insurgency in 1984 in which more than 40,000 people have been killed. The state launched peace talks with its jailed leader in 2012.