The Turkish Armed Forces have eliminated eight members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, the Turkish General Staff tweeted on Saturday, TASS reports.
"The Turkish Air Force has struck the areas of Avashin Basian and Zap in northern Iraq and eliminated eight members of a separatist organization (PKK - TASS,)" the report says.
Turkish Minister of the Interior Suleyman Soylu declared on June 3 that the Turkish military are advancing toward Iraq’s Qandil, where the Kurdistan Workers' Party camps and strongholds have been located for the last 35 years. On June 11, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan stated the republic’s intention to clear northern Iraq from terrorists.
The Turkish Air Force sometimes carries out surgical strikes on PKK targets in northern Iraq. The parliament gives sanction to conduct these border operations to the military. During the last eight years it repeatedly prolonged the corresponding mandate, which is issued for a period of one year. Ankara considers PKK to be a terrorist organization and one of the main threats to national security.
