Turkey conducts air sorties in northern Iraq

Turkish armed forces conducted air reconnaissance in 62 spots around northern Iraq to examine targets of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' party (PKK). The Turkish military said on its website that they have taken aerial photos of possible targets and started assessments. A group of PKK rebels opened fire on a gendarmerie post near the Turkish-Iraqi border, lightly injuring a soldier, adding that a helicopter returned fire to the group in line with norms of the legitimate self-defence, the military added. Since last October, Ankara has been holding peace negotiations with PKK's jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan, who finally made an announcement of ceasefire and withdrawal in March. Earlier in May, the PKK fighters once stationed in Turkey started to head to their stronghold in Iraq.