In a statement on late May 7, the General Staff said the Turkish Air
Force sent four attack helicopters into northern Iraq. The statement said
the air strike lasted for an hour on suspected PKK targets in Iraq's Kandil
mountains.
"After detecting that anti-aircraft fire was opened on [Turkish]
helicopters from various positions across the border, the Air Force fired on
those positions," the military said. "It has been observed that those
positions were destroyed."
This marked the first Turkish strike on Iraq in 2010. Officials said the
government approved retaliation after a series of major PKK assaults on
military and security force units.
The Turkish attack on Iraq included Israeli-origin unmanned aerial
vehicles. The statement said the Air Force sent three groups of up to eight commandos each
into northern Iraq.
On early May 7, a force of 25 PKK fighters launched an attack on the
Turkish border village of Daglica. Officials said two Turkish soldiers and
five PKK fighters were killed.
Despite the air attack, the PKK continued attacks on the Turkish
military.
On May 8, two Turkish soldiers were killed in explosions in the provinces of
Hakari and Sirnak along the Turkish-Iraqi border.
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