Turkey launched a wave of air-strikes on Kurdish rebel positions in northern Iraq, hours after a suicide blast hit the Interior Ministry complex in Ankara Oct. 1. The Turkish military said 20 targets were destroyed and several fighters from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) were “neutralized.” The People Defense Forces (HPG), armed wing of the PKK, released a statement via the rebel movement’s Firat News Agency (ANF) saying that a “sacrificial action” against the Interior Ministry was carried out by a unit from their Immortal Brigade. The two assailants, both women, were killed in the attack—one as she detonated her payload while storming the entrance to the ministry compound, the other shot by police. Two police officers were also wounded. The HPG statement said the attack was a “warning” to the Turkish government over its ongoing military operations against Kurdish militants both in Syria and in Iraq. (BBC News, Arab News, EKurd, Al-Monitor, EuroNews)
Map: CIA
Turkish strikes on Rojava after Ankara blast
Turkish air-strikes over the past days have killed at least 11 people at multiple locations in the Kurdish autonomous zone of northeastern Syria, known as Rojava. Several power stations were targeted, causing blackouts in many towns and villages. (CNN, Rudaw)
More Turkish strikes on Iraqi Kurdistan
Turkey’s military conducted air-strikes in northern Iraq on Nov. 5 and destroyed 15 Kurdish militant targets, the Turkish Defense Ministry said, adding many militants had been “neutralized.” The ministry said the targets hit in the strikes included caves, shelters and storage facilities in the area of Hakurk near the Turkish border. (Reuters)
More Turkish air-strikes on Rojava
The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) reported Jan. 15 that at least six civilians have been wounded and several civilian facilities been destroyed in Turkish shelling and air-strikes on its territory. Since Jan. 12, Turkey has launched 73 attacks, targeting oil facilities, power plants, control points of the internal security forces, as well as 45 civilian facilities and houses. (Jurist)