Five PKK members “neutralized” in Turkish Army attacks in northern Iraq

MADRID 14 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Government of Turkey reported this Wednesday that it has “neutralized” five alleged members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) – which Ankara considers a terrorist group – during an air operation in the Asos region, in northern Iraq.

“Five more PKK terrorists were neutralized with the air operation carried out in the Asos region. Our fight against terrorism will continue effectively and decisively,” the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced in a statement collected by the state agency of Anadolu news.

At the end of October, the Turkish Army carried out a series of attacks against positions in areas of Syria and Iraq, where the Government confirmed the “neutralization of 23 terrorists.”

The PKK, banned as a terrorist organization in Turkey, the European Union and the United States, has been fighting the Turkish state since the 1980s. Its headquarters are in the Qandil mountains in northern Iraq. On October 25, the group claimed responsibility for the attack against the main facilities of the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) company in the Turkish capital.

The Turkish Army usually carries out military operations against the group in Iraq – where the group has numerous bases – and in Syria since the ceasefire between the Government and the armed group was broken in July 2015. The Forces Syrian Democratic Forces, supported by the US-led coalition, are led by the Kurdish militia People’s Protection Units (YPG), with ties to the PKK.