Turkish Army’s third air campaign against PKK in Iraq

Ankara. The Turkish military launched its third cross-border air campaign in Iraq following a suicide bomb attack in the capital Ankara. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned at a security meeting that the infrastructure and energy facilities of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Syria and Iraq are now the targets of the Turkish military. Fidan revealed that the two attackers responsible for the recent suicide bombing in Ankara came from Syria. Turkey’s Interior Ministry has identified both attackers as PKK members, a news agency reported. The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and the European Union, has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish government for more than three decades. Two police officers were injured in an attack in front of the Turkish Interior Ministry building on Sunday. During the attack, one suicide bomber blew himself up, while the other was shot dead by police. Turkish armed forces launched two major air campaigns against the PKK and destroyed 22 targets in northern Iraq, including caves, bunkers, shelters and warehouses, the Turkish Defense Ministry said. Turkish forces frequently conduct ground operations, airstrikes and artillery bombardments against the PKK in northern Iraq, especially in the Qandil Mountains, the group’s main base. The Turkish military launched Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016, Operation Olive Branch in 2018, Operation Peace Spring in 2019 and Operation Spring Shield in northern Syria in 2020 to create YPG-free zones on its border with neighboring countries.