Turkey bombs PKK camps with 30 F-16s after 190 militants were killed

Uğur Ergan – ANKARA

File photo. Source: Turkish Air Force

A total of 190 militants have reportedly been killed in two major airstrikes by the Turkish military targeting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party’s (PKK) bases both inside Turkey and northern Iraq, intelligence sources told daily Hürriyet, before 30 F-16s reportedly bombed PKK camps on July 30.

Turkish Air Forces bombed the determined targets in northern Iraq on July 24, as a result of a compilation of the findings obtained from radio talks and drones. The airstrikes have reportedly killed 190 PKK militants and injured over 300.

Sources also told that a total of 40 fighter jets participated in the northern Iraq part of the operation on July 28, while some 30 jets were assigned for domestic operations. Tanker aircrafts have also accompanied the fighter jets to meet their fuel demand. 

In addition, howitzers deployed across the borderline shelled 130 targets, destroying a total 25 anti-aircraft gun positions used by PKK militants.

The latest Turkish airstrikes targeting PKK camps both inside the country, as well as across the Syrian border came amid an epidemic of terrorist attacks on Turkish security personnel across Turkey, specifically in its eastern and southeastern regions, with scores of deaths and injuries over the past two weeks.  

The PKK said the ceasefire with the Turkish government had “lost its meaning” following the first wave of airstrikes in northern Iraq. 

The Turkish air strikes against the PKK targets in northern Iraq have raised questions about the future of the delicate peace process between Turkey and Kurdish militants, who, until now, have largely observed a ceasefire since 2013.

On July 30, 30 Turkish F-16s bombed PKK bases in northern Iraq's Zap, Metina and Haftanin areas, according to the website of the Iraqi Kurdish regional government's official website. 

Before the fresh wave of air strikes, four Turkish security forces and one civilian were killed in two separate armed attacks in the southeastern provinces of Diyarbakır and Şırnak.