Three PKK terrorists killed in an airstrike targeting the group's bases in northern Iraq's Gara region were found to be operating within the so-called special force structure that plans actions and attacks in Turkey, the Defense Ministry announced Monday.

Turkish aerial elements eliminated three PKK terrorists in Gara, northern Iraq, the country's National Defense Ministry said Sunday.

In an official statement, the ministry said that as part of Turkish strikes on terror elements in northern Iraq, three terrorists affiliated with the PKK were killed in Gara in successful operations by the air force.

In another statement Monday, the ministry said: "It was determined that 3 PKK terrorists, who were neutralized by the coordinated work of the Turkish Armed Forces and National Intelligence Organization (MIT) in Gara, in the north of Iraq yesterday, operate within the so-called special force structure that plans action in Turkey."

Turkish security forces have ramped up their efforts against the PKK terrorists at home and across the country's borders and have been carrying out successful operations to eliminate senior terrorists. Many PKK terrorist hideouts and bases are located in northern Iraq from where they carry out attacks on Turkey.

The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) regularly conducts cross-border operations in northern Iraq. Turkey has long stressed that it will not tolerate terrorist threats posed against its national security and has called on Iraqi officials to take the necessary steps to eliminate the terrorist group. Ankara previously noted that if the expected steps were not taken, it would not shy from targeting terrorist threats itself.

PKK targets are being heavily targeted in the Gara, Metina, Avashin-Basyan, Zap and Qandil regions in northern Iraq. In addition to F-16 fighter jets, the operations are being supported by border artillery units, fire support elements in forward base areas and attack helicopters.

In response, the PKK terrorist group has recently increased multifaceted terrorist attacks by targeting legitimate representatives of the Kurdish people in northern Iraq including Peshmerga forces and police officers, kidnapping civilians, targeting diplomatic missions and inciting peaceful protests to violence in the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (KRG).

The PKK also accuses the Irbil administration of collaborating with Turkey in its successful anti-terror operations in northern Iraq and is attacking Peshmerga forces in the KRG.

The PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has waged a terror campaign against Turkey for more than four decades and has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women and children.