Hours after this Sunday’s attack in front of the entrance to the Ministry of the Interior in Ankara, Turkish fighter jets attacked positions of the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq at night. In the operation, many militants were “neutralized,” the Turkish Defense Ministry announced. The provincial spokesperson of the pro-Kurdish HDP party and several district presidents were captured and detained.
The Defense Ministry explained around midnight that “airstrikes were carried out against terrorist targets in Metina, Hakurk, Kandil and Gara,” regions in northern Iraq, adding that 20 targets were hit. Among them, caves, bunkers, shelters and warehouses used by the PKK and where some of its senior officials are believed to be housed.
In Iraq, the Kurdish media Rudaw also reported on its website about airstrikes on the heights of Mount Qandil, traditionally considered a PKK stronghold near the border with Iran.
Additionally, Turkish police carried out operations against Kurdish targets in western Turkey. Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced early Monday that “an operation was carried out in 26 different locations in the provinces of Istanbul and Kirklareli against the separatist terrorist organization (PKK).”
The most recent military and police operations against the PKK occurred after the bomb attack carried out on Sunday morning in front of the Ministry of the Interior, which was claimed hours later by the group’s military wing. One of the two attackers detonated an explosive that he was carrying and the other was killed by security forces, while two police officers were injured. There were no casualties other than the attackers.
The explosion rocked a district housing ministerial buildings and the nearby parliament in what was the first attack in the capital in years, coinciding with the opening of the new parliamentary session. The car used in the attack was stolen in the province of Kayseri from a young veterinarian who died from a gunshot to the head.
On the night of the attack, the military wing of the PKK claimed responsibility in a statement released through the F?rat news agency, known for its closeness to the organization. In the statement, it was announced that the attack had been carried out by an affiliated team called “Battalion of the Immortals.”
The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. It launched an insurgency in southeastern Turkey in 1984 and more than 40,000 people have died in the conflict.
The Turkish army periodically launches ground and air military operations against PKK fighters and their positions in northern Iraq, autonomous Kurdistan or the mountainous region of Sinjar. Over the past 25 years, Turkey has set up several dozen military bases in Iraqi Kurdistan to fight the group, which also has rear bases in this region.
The presidency of autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan, which maintains close ties with the Turkish authorities, condemned the “terrorist attack” in Ankara, stating that “terrorism and violence represent a serious threat to regional peace and stability.”
