Four Turkish fighter jets bombed suspected Kurdish rebel bases in Iraq on Wednesday evening after an earlier ambush killed at least seven Turkish soldiers, officials said.
An F-16C Falcon from the Turkish Air Force. (Photo by US Air Force)
According to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the four Turkish aircraft heavily bombed the Meteen area, and at around 9 p.m. local time, more planes entered Iraq’s air space above the Kurdistan region in the Soran District of Erbil Province and the Qandeel Mountain valley, the National Iraqi News Agency (NINA) reported.
No information was available regarding the magnitude of the damages caused during the bombing, but reports said the Kurdistan region suffers from Iranian artillery bombings almost every day, causing deaths and material damages.
Earlier on Wednesday, twelve Turkish soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb and an ambush targeted a military convoy in Turkey’s southeastern province of Hakkari near the Iraqi border. Among the fatalities was a military officer who was in command of the troops.
The attack was reportedly carried out by Kurdish rebel group the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which have killed at least 34 Turkish soldiers since July.
The PKK, which has been labeled as a terrorist organizations by the United States and the European Union, was established in 1984 in its efforts to establish the eastern and southeastern regions of Turkey as an autonomous Kurdish state. Over 40,000 soldiers and civilians have been killed in violent clashes since the group took arms. The PKK maintains its military bases across the Iraqi border.
