Turkey, coalition hit 15 Daesh positions in N Syria

By Sinan Uslu

ANKARA (AA) – Turkish artillery and U.S.-led coalition forces hit 15 positions belonging to the Daesh terrorist group in northern Syria on Tuesday, according to the military.

Turkish military said in a statement on Wednesday that its artillery struck 15 weapon emplacements, including Katyusha rockets, belonging to Daesh, which was reportedly preparing to attack Turkey from neighboring Syria. The U.S.-led coalition forces supported the operation with airstrikes.

Since mid-January, Daesh rockets have been targeting towns and cities in southern Turkey, close to the Syrian border. A total of 21 people, including Syrians who had taken shelter in Turkey, were killed and more than 70 others wounded in such attacks.

Turkish fighter jets also carried out airstrikes on Tuesday on three targets, including shelters, of the PKK terrorist organization in the Qandil region of northern Iraq, the military said.

The Turkish army carried out another air operation in the Qandil region on Monday, killing 38 PKK terrorists and wounding seven others.

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- resumed its 30-year armed campaign against the Turkish state in July 2015.

Since then, nearly 600 security personnel, including troops, police officers, and village guards, have been martyred, and more than 7,700 PKK terrorists neutralized in operations across Turkey and northern Iraq.

*Anadolu Agency Correspondent Sibel Ugurlu contributed to this report from Ankara.