Turkish airstrikes destroy terrorist PKK positions in northern Iraq

Turkish jets destroyed 12 terrorist PKK targets in northern Iraq, the military said Sunday.

The airstrikes were carried out in northern Iraq's Hakurk, Sinat-Haftanin, Zap and Metina regions, the Turkish General Staff said in a statement.

Among the targets were shelters and weapon emplacements of the terrorist organization, the statement added.

Airstrikes on PKK targets in northern Iraq, where the terror group has its main base in the Mount Qandil region, near the Iranian border, have been carried out regularly since July 2015, when the PKK resumed its 40-year-long armed terror campaign against the Turkish state.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on said at least 4,017 terrorists have been neutralized since the launch of Operation Olive Branch in northwestern Syria's Afrin.

Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply that the terrorists in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.

Speaking at the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) ordinary provincial congress in southeastern Siirt province, Erdoğan said that the number of "neutralized" terrorists in northern Iraq reached 327. A total of 154 terrorists were neutralized in Turkey's counter-terrorism operations in eastern Gabar mountain region, Mt. Cudi area in the southeastern Şırnak, and eastern Tunceli, the president said.

Meanwhile in the Kocaköy, Lice, Hazro, Silvan and Kulp districts of southeastern Diyarbakır province, a gendarmerie operation that has been ongoing since Wednesday has been terminated Sunday after two PKK militants listed on the Interior Ministry's top wanted terrorists list were killed and 25.3 million Turkish lira ($6.25 million) worth cannabis was seized. Numerous firearms, ammunition, equipment and documents were also confiscated in the operation, the Diyarbakır Governorate said in a statement Sunday.

Seven caves and eight shelters used by the terrorist group have been destroyed and three handmade explosive traps have also been located and destroyed, it added.

A senior PKK terrorist who was on the Interior Ministry's green list of most wanted terrorists was killed by Turkish security forces during counterterrorism operations in Southeastern Turkey on Saturday.

One of the terrorists killed in the operation was Eyüp Çelik, a high-ranked PKK terrorist with a code name of Demhar Cilo. Çelik was responsible from the death of Malik Yıldız, a security guard who was killed due to an armed attack to its delivery vehicle on April 3.

In Şırnak Province, a depot located in Mount Cudi has been discovered by security forces. Şırnak Governor Mehmet Aktaş stated that the PKK will be completely rooted out from the mountain, the highest summit in the area and a strategic position overlooking the Cizre and Silopi districts and Şırnak city center. The area, which holds cultural and religious importance, will also be open for tourism by this summer, he added.

In Hakkari province, 30 areas in three districts have been declared special security zones for 14 days to allow for terror operations and field scans.

An operation in three provinces in eastern Black Sea region that was launched on Thursday after contact with a group of PKK terrorists trying to infiltrate the area is also ongoing.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey as well as the U.S. and the EU. In its terror campaign against Turkey, which has lasted for more than three decades, over 40,000 people have been killed, including women and children.