Turkey’s defence ministry said on Thursday it had bombed 32 targets linked to the PKK and its allies in northern Iraq and Syria, hours after an attack in Ankara that killed five people and was blamed on the Kurdish group.
“Under our right to self-defence as per Article 51 of the UN Charter, an air operation was carried out against terrorist targets in northern Iraq and Syria (…) and a total of 32 terrorist targets were successfully destroyed,” the ministry said in a press release, adding that air operations were continuing.
Turkey’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said yesterday that the perpetrators of the attack in the Turkish capital were “very likely” members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
According to Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, the five victims were four employees of Turkish defence industry firm TUSAS and a taxi driver.
The two attackers – a man and a woman – were “neutralised” (killed), Interior Minister Yerlikaya said.
Another 22 people, including seven members of Turkey’s special forces, were injured.
The PKK, which has waged an armed struggle against the Turkish state since 1984, is designated as a “terrorist” organisation by Turkey, the US and the EU.
(information from amna.gr)
