MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the Daily Sabah newspaper, three PKK shelters and an ammunition depot were destroyed in the Metina region. The jets have returned safely to the bases, according to the media outlet.
It was earlier reported that the People’s Defense Forces (HPG), an armed wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), attacked Turkish servicemen on their country's border with Iraq, killing a number of troops.
The PKK is designated as a terrorist group in Turkey and the United States. Tensions between Ankara and the Kurds escalated in July 2015 when a ceasefire between Ankara and the PKK collapsed because of a series of terror attacks allegedly committed by PKK members. The Kurds are living in parts of Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. In Turkey, Kurds represent the largest ethnic minority, and are striving to create their own independent state.
On April 7, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the Turkish forces would enter Iraq to put an end to the terror groups’ threat and will not let the PKK create its base in the Iraqi town of Sinjar. The PKK already has a base, located in the Qandil mountains of northern Iraq.
