Turkish intel destroys PKK targets in Iraq, Syria after Ankara attack
Smoke rises from the headquarters of aviation company TUSAŞ, where three people were killed and five others wounded in an attack, near Kahramankazan, Ankara, Türkiye, Oct. 23, 2024. (Reuters Photo)


Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) has destroyed several PKK targets in northern Iraq and Syria following a deadly terrorist attack in the capital of Ankara, security sources said Thursday.

MIT airstrikes targeted PKK terrorists’ so-called military, intelligence, energy and infrastructure facilities, as well as logistics and ammunition depots in the region, sources said.

Türkiye has ramped up airstrikes on PKK targets since a terror attack on the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) killed five and injured 22 people on Wednesday afternoon.

While no terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said preliminary findings suggest the PKK was behind it.

The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union, launched a bloody campaign of terrorism in the 1980s, targeting Turkish security forces and civilians, primarily in the southeastern Türkiye, close to the border with Iraq.

More than 40,000 people were killed in the acts of terrorism, while the PKK leadership retains a swath of territory in Iraq's north, where they have hideouts.

Türkiye has conducted years of cross-border military operations against terrorists in Iraq and Syria. The PKK, under the name of YPG, also controls parts of northern Syria, right across the Turkish border.

Türkiye has, over the past 25 years, operated several dozen military bases in northern Iraq in its war against the PKK and has been conducting airstrikes as part of "Claw" operations since 2022 to demolish terrorist lairs and prevent the formation of a terrorist corridor along its borders.