Turkiye strikes PKK targets in northern Iraq in retaliation for Ankara terror attack

Turkiye struck a number of suspected Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq on Sunday, in retaliation for a terrorist attack on a government building in the capital Ankara.

On Sunday morning, two terrorists approached the General Directorate of Security in Ankara by car, with one blowing himself upand the other being neutralised. Two security officers were injured during the attack.

Although there were no serious casualties in the foiled bombing itself, the car which the terrorists were using had been stolen from a civilian they murdered, a veterinary health technician named Mikail Bozlagan.

They then carried out the attack less than a mile away from the parliament building and hours before lawmakers were due to return after a three-month summer break.

READ: Terrorists will never succeed in destroying peace in Turkiye, says President Erdogan

Responsibility for the attempted terror operation was then claimed by the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK), which is designated as a terrorist organisation by Turkiye, the United States and the European Union.

In a statement released by a PKK-affiliated Kurdish news agency, the group claimed that “It was specifically envisaged that this action would be carried out on the opening day of parliament, very close to the parliament building.”

Ankara retaliated to the attack the same day, with the Turkish Defence Ministry announcing in a statement that the military deployed warplanes and “destroyed” 20 suspected PKK targets in northern Iraq, including caves, shelters and depots.

Teröristler, kendilerini bekleyen sondan kaçamayacak!

Bir gece ansızın inlerinde vurduk, vurmaya devam edeceğiz.

Tek bir terörist kalmayıncaya kadar da bu mücadele bitmeyecek!#MillîSavunmaBakanlığı pic.twitter.com/ctPwAL7O0S

— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) October 1, 2023