"The successful overnight air operations carried out by our heroic army against a separatist terrorist organization in northern Iraq have become an important indicator that we will continue to prevent terrorism not only inside our country, but also outside it. Thanks to these operations, the terrorist organization received another strong blow," Altun said on X (previously known as Twitter) on Sunday.
On Sunday, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said that two terrorists had carried out an explosion near a ministry building in Ankara. Two police officers were wounded. Turkish newspaper media reported later, citing the interior ministry, that one of the attackers had been identified as a PKK member. Later on Sunday, the Turkish Defense Ministry said that the country's military conducted air strikes against the PKK in northern Iraq and destroyed 20 targets.
More Active and Touher Operations Against Kurdistan Workers' Party
Military operations of the Turkish armed forces in northern Iraq and Syria against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is banned in the country, will take on a more active and tough character after the attempted terrorist attack in Ankara, a source in the Turkish presidential administration told Sputnik.
On Sunday, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said that two terrorists had carried out an explosion near the ministry building in the Turkish capital, with one terrorist detonating himself and the other neutralized. Two police officers were wounded. Turkish media reported later that the PKK claimed responsibility for the attack. Later on Sunday, the Turkish Defense Ministry said that the country’s military conducted air strikes against objects of the PKK in northern Iraq.
"Yesterday, speaking in the country’s parliament, Mr. President [Recep Tayyip Erdogan] warned that our fight will continue until the last terrorist and these pathetic attempts [of terrorist attacks] are their last breaths. The military operations of our heroic soldiers will become more active and tough. Turkiye will not become a hostage to terrorists," the source said.
The armed conflict between the PKK and Turkiye began in 1984 and renewed in 2015. The organization, which seeks the creation of an independent Kurdish state, including on the Turkish territory, has established bases in Iraqi and Syrian territories close to the Turkish border, where the Turkish armed forces have been targeting them in land and air strikes.