Turkey expands airstrikes targeting PKK in Iraq and fresh attacks on ISIL

Turkey expands airstrikes targeting PKK in Iraq and fresh attacks on ISIL
By Euronews
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Turkey has carried out fresh attacks on ISIL targets in Syria, as well as striking military positions of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party or PKK in

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Turkey has carried out fresh attacks on ISIL targets in Syria, as well as striking military positions of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party or PKK in northern Iraq.

The government confirmed it carried out simultaneous airstrikes against seven PKK targets in Iraq.

It marks the first time Turkey has attacked the group since a truce was struck in 2013, and is likely to jeopardise the stalled peace process.

A statement on the PKK’s website said that the truce with Turkey has ‘no meaning anymore’ after the overnight attacks.

The military operations against ISIL mark a significant policy shift, but Ankara has also vowed to take on the PKK which has claimed attacks on security forces in the past few days.

Sharing a 900km long frontier with Syria, Turkey has faced increasing cross-border violence. On Monday 32 people were killed in a suicide bombing in the border town of Suruc.

The attack sparked violence in the southern Kurdish-dominated part of the country, where many accuse the government of collaborating with ISIL militants.

The government also launched a major counter-terrorism operation arresting hundreds of suspected ISIL and PKK members.

Protests to denounce ISIL violence have sprung up across the country, with many blaming the government for the attack in Suruc.

The Istanbul governor’s office said it would ban a peace march in the city this weekend citing concerns over ‘provocative action’ and ‘dense traffic’.

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