Turkey takes hold of 4 targets in northern Iraq

By Orhan Onur Gemici

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey took a hold of four targets in northern Iraq as part of its anti-terror operations in the region, the National Defense Ministry said early Sunday.

It said in a statement that Operations Pence-Simsek and Pence-Yildirim continue in the Metina and Avasin-Basyan regions and added that the targets were detected in the Qandil region by air operations.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier Saturday operations launched on Friday aims to eliminate the terrorist threat along Turkey’s southern borders.

The PKK terrorist group often use bases in northern Iraq, just across Turkey’s southern border, to hide and plot terror attacks in Turkey.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar