Turkey launches new ground and air offensive against Kurds in northern Iraq
- Turkish television showed images of paratroopers jumping from helicopters and camouflaged soldiers firing guns
- Turkey’s Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said the operation began on Friday afternoon and involved commandos who were backed up by drones and attack helicopters
The Turkish army has launched a new ground and air offensive against outlawed Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, officials and local media reported on Saturday.
Turkish media said commando forces landed in the Metina region from helicopters while warplanes dropped bombs on Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) targets.
“Heroic commandos of the heroic Turkish Armed Forces are in northern Iraq,” the defence ministry said in a tweet without specifying how many soldiers were involved.
Turkish television showed images of paratroopers jumping from helicopters and camouflaged soldiers firing guns.
In a televised speech, Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said the operation began on Friday afternoon and involved commandos who were backed up by drones and attack helicopters.
The PKK, listed as a terror group by Turkey and much of the international community, has been using Iraq’s northern mountains as a springboard in its decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state.
The Turkish army regularly conducts cross-border operations and air raids against PKK bases in northern Iraq.