Turkish fighter jets hit 70 targets in northern Iraq
ANKARA — Turkey launched its largest air offensive this year in its campaign in Iraq.
Turkish F-16 multi-role fighters struck 70 targets of the Kurdish
Workers Party in northern Iraq, the military said on Monday. The Turkish Air
Force was said to have employed at least five F-16s in the fifth such strike
on PKK bases since December 2007.
"Some 70 targets came under fire and our planes, which completed their
duties successfully, returned to their bases safely at 3:15 p.m. [1315
GMT]," the military said in statement.
Officials said this marked the largest Turkish air strike since December
2007. On Dec. 16, 200 suspected PKK targets were attacked by the Turkish Air
Force.
Iraq has acknowledged the latest Turkish strike, said to have been
coordinated with the United States. An Iraqi official at the autonomous
Kurdish Regional Government said the Turkish air attack — in the Avasyn
and Basyan region — lasted one hour and no civilians were killed. The PKK
was said to maintain a base at Khnera just inside Iraq.
The air strike was said to have capped a ground offensive against the
PKK in southeastern Turkey. On Feb. 3, the military said 10 PKK fighters
were killed in a three-day ground and air operation along the Iraqi border.
