Ankara/Istanbul, Oct. 5, (dpa/GNA) – Turkey carried out further air strikes against Kurdish militants based in northern Iraq on Wednesday, three days after a suicide bombing in the capital Ankara.
Turkey’s air force on Wednesday evening bombed targets in the Qandil Mountains where the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack, has its headquarters, the Defence Ministry in Ankara said.
More than 20 targets were destroyed in the attacks, including hideouts and weapons depots, according to the ministry. In addition, the ministry said numerous PKK fighters were put out of action – which usually means they were killed.
The ministry said the bombings were a reaction to the attack on Sunday, and Turkey continued to invoke the right to self-defence, according to the statement.
Both assailants in Sunday’s attack were killed and two police were wounded in front of the Interior Ministry in the Turkish capital.
Turkey immediately began attacking Kurdish militants in northern Iraq following the attack.
The latest Turkish attacks come after Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan earlier on Wednesday said all infrastructure and energy facilities belonging to two Kurdish militant groups in neighbouring Syria and Iraq are now “legitimate targets” for Turkey, following the Ankara attack.
The two attackers were trained in Syria and entered Turkey from there illegally, Fidan told reporters in Ankara. He threatened an “extremely clear” response, and also named the Syrian Kurdish militia YPG as a target.
Ankara considers both PKK and YPG to be terrorist groups linked to each other.
Turkey controls a swathe of land in northern Syria following several several military operations against the YPG there.
Ankara also has military bases in northern Iraq, where it separately carries out routine air strikes against the PKK.
The PKK has been waging an insurgency within Turkey since the early 1980s. The group is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.
The YPG, however, remains a key partner for the US in the fight against the Islamic State in Syria.
Turkey has faced regular attacks in the past from Kurdish separatists.
Last year, a bomb explosion on Istanbul’s major İstiklal shopping street killed six people. Ankara claimed the bomber had links to the YPG. The group denied involvement.
GNA