Turkish military target PKK sites in Duhok

Shafaq News/ Turkish warplanes reportedly bombed sites believed to be sites of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Duhok, Iraqi Kurdistan, on Monday.

A security source informed Shafaq News Agency that "the aircraft conducted airstrikes on PKK positions in the Matin mountain range near the Amadiya district, north of Duhok."

The source added that "the bombing targeted areas near the villages of Kuhrzi and Balafah twice in a row, with the extent of casualties and damage caused by the airstrike unknown."

The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Turkiye, the U.S., and the European Union, took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the insurgency since then.

The conflict was long fought mainly in rural areas of southeastern Turkiye but is now more focused on the mountains of northern Iraq's mountainous, semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.

Earlier this month, the Iraqi military set up 2 military bases in Zakho near the borders with Turkiye days after the Turkish president visited Baghdad in pursuit of cooperation against the PKK, which has been active in the area.

Last week, Ankara announced that Turkiye was prepared to provide Iraq with technical assistance for securing its borders to halt the PKK movements around the region.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Baghdad and Erbil recently as Ankara ramped up cross-border operations against PKK members based in mountainous border territories in the region's north. During the visit, the two countries agreed to a strategic framework agreement overseeing security, trade, energy, and a defense cooperation deal.