Turkish Warplanes Strike PKK Targets in Southeast

Turkish warplanes struck Kurdish rebel positions overnight in southeast Turkey
Turkish Warplanes Strike PKK Targets in Southeast
Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 31st Fighter Wing, Aviano Air Base, Italy, fly over Europe on March 20, 2015. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Christine Griffiths)
The Associated Press
8/11/2015
Updated:
8/11/2015

ANKARA, Turkey—Turkish warplanes struck Kurdish rebel positions overnight in southeast Turkey, the military said Tuesday, a day after heavy violence in the country left at least nine dead.

In a statement, the Turkish military said jets hit 17 targets of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, around the Buzul mountain and the Ikiyaka region in Hakkari province, which borders Iran and Iraq.

In further violence Tuesday, Kurdish rebels attacked an infantry brigade command post in nearby Sirnak province, seriously wounding a soldier who later died in a hospital.

On Monday, nine people, including five police officers, were killed in separate attacks in Istanbul and in the southeastern Sirnak province. The attacks were blamed on the PKK.

Turkey has seen a sharp spike in clashes between security forces and Kurdish rebels in recent weeks. More than 50 people, mostly police and soldiers, have died during the renewed violence that has wrecked an already fragile peace process with the Kurds.

Turkish warplanes have raided PKK targets in Iraq and in southeast Turkey in tandem with airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Syria since late July. The main focus of the raids however, has been the PKK.

The PKK has been fighting for Kurdish autonomy in southeast Turkey. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people since 1984.

On Tuesday, the U.S. consulate in Istanbul reopened for business, a day after two women opened fire at the heavily protected building.

No one was hurt in the attack which was claimed by an outlawed far-left group. Both assailants fled; one suspect was later shot and taken into custody.

Visa applicants were, as usual, searched at the entrance before being allowed into the complex. Police vehicles were stationed at a street leading to the building.