Turkey launches air strikes on PKK in Iraq and southeast Turkey

Turkish warplanes struck Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant targets in northern Iraq and southeast Turkey on Friday night, the latest raids in a military campaign against the rebel group.

The Turkish army said it hit 23 PKK targets, including shelters and supply points, in Zap, Avasin-Baysan, Hakurk and Qandil areas in northern Iraq with 22 fighter jets.

The air strikes were carried out between the hours of 11 p.m. and 2 a.m., the army said.

It also said it hit PKK locations in Sirnak province in Turkey’s southeast, including shelters and gun points.

The PKK’s 31-year-old conflict with the state erupted anew in July, with Turkey launching air strikes on militant camps in response to attacks on its security forces, ending a March 2013 ceasefire. Hundreds have been killed in the latest fighting.

Designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and European Union, the PKK launched a separatist insurgency in 1984 in which more than 40,000 people have been killed. The state launched peace talks with its jailed leader in 2012.