Ankara, December 20 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish Ministry of Defense said in a statement on December 20 that the Turkish army launched air strikes on Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militant targets in northern Iraq that night, destroying 14 targets.
The statement said that the Turkish Air Force launched air strikes on PKK militant targets in Gala, Hakurk, Kandil and other places in northern Iraq, destroying 14 targets, including warehouses, forts and caves believed to be linked to PKK forces.
On October 1 this year, two Turkish policemen were injured and two attackers were killed in a bomb attack in front of the main security department of the Turkish Ministry of Internal Affairs. Turkey's interior ministry said the two attackers had been identified as armed members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) through DNA technology. Following the attack, the Turkish army carried out several rounds of air strikes against PKK militant targets in northern Iraq.
The PKK was founded in 1979 and is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union. The PKK seeks to establish an independent state by force in Kurdish-populated areas on Turkey's borders with Iraq, Iran and Syria. In recent years, Turkey has repeatedly crossed borders to strike at Kurdish militants. (ENDS).