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Turkish military says hit rebel targets in N. Iraq | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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ISTANBUL, (Reuters) – Turkish warplanes struck Kurdish guerrilla targets in northern Iraq on Wednesday, the Turkish military said, the second consecutive day of strikes.

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) targets were in the mountainous Kandil region and all the jets returned safely to their bases, the armed forces statement said.

There was no mention of damage caused by the strikes but the military said care was taken to prevent harm to civilians in the affected area.

“Turkish Air Force warplanes effectively struck PKK terror group targets in the Kandil region of northern Iraq on Dec. 17,” the statement said.

Ankara has boosted military action against the PKK in recent months, as casualties on both sides have risen. PKK rebels claimed responsibility for blowing up a section of the Kirkuk-Ceyhan oil pipeline between Iraq and Turkey last month.

Turkey, the European Union and United States term the PKK a terrorist organisation. Around 40,000 people have been killed in fighting between the PKK and the military since 1984, when the PKK took up arms with the aim of establishing an ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey.