17 PKK terrorists killed in anti-terror operation in northern Iraq
|File Photo


A total of 17 PKK terrorists were killed in a counter-terror operation carried out in northern Iraq's Metina, Gara and Avashin-Basyan regions, the Turkish Armed Forces said Tuesday in a written statement.

The airstrike was launched with surveillance equipment upon identifying terrorist targets, who were reportedly planning attacks on Turkish positions.

Several shelters used by the terrorist group were also destroyed during the operation, the statement added.

The Turkish military has been carrying out anti-terror operations against PKK positions in northern Iraq since July 2015, with main focus on Qandil region, where the terrorist group's main camp is located in.

Founded in 1978, the PKK has waged a decades-long bloody campaign against Turkey.

The group, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU, resumed its armed campaign in July 2015 after a brief reconciliation period.

Since that time, it has been responsible for the deaths of some 1,200 security personnel and civilians, including women and children, while more than 4,000 security personnel and over 2,000 civilians have been injured.