Turkish fighter jets hit 23 Kurdish targets in northern Iraq

Turkish fighter jets bombed 23 targets of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq on Friday, private Dogan news agency reported on Saturday.

Turkish security forces found the shelter and housing areas of the PKK militants in regions of Zap, Avasin-Basyan, Hakurk and Qandil in northern Iraq, said the report.

Turkey dispatched 12 F-16 jets and 10 F-4 2020 jets to launch air operations against the PKK targets in the regions in northern Iraq on Friday night, added the report.

The PKK negotiated a ceasefire with Ankara in 2013, but the truce fell apart in the wake of a suicide bomb attack on July 20, which killed 33 pro-Kurdish and left-wing activists in the border town of Suruc in the southeastern province of Sanliurfa.

Tensions have been running high, especially in southeastern Turkey, as major military operations against PKK militants have been under way since July after a cease-fire failed.

The PKK is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.

Source: XINHUA