Turkish Airstrikes Kill 3 PKK Militants in Southeast Turkey: Military


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Turkish jets killed three Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in southeastern Turkey near the border with Iraq in airstrikes on Thursday, the military said.

The strikes near the town of Cukurca in a mountainous part of the border province of Hakkari come after a series of attacks launched by the PKK, which has fought a three-decade insurgency for Kurdish autonomy in southeastern Turkey, Reuters reported.

Turkish military has frequently carried out airstrikes after a two-and-a-half-year ceasefire and peace process between the government and the PKK broke down last summer.

More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict since the PKK - designated a "terrorist group" by Turkey, the US and the European Union - began its armed campaign in 1984.

Turkey's military, NATO's second largest, has continued to grapple with the low-intensity conflict in the mainly Kurdish southeast as its senior ranks undergo a major shake-up following a July 15-16 failed coup attempt.