Turkey moves troops against Kurdish militants in north Iraq

ANKARA,
Turkey (AP) — Turkey says it has airlifted troops for a cross-border
ground operation against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq.

A
Defense Ministry statement said Wednesday the airborne operation in
Iraq’s Haftanin region was launched following “intense” artillery fire
into the area.

The operation by commando forces is being supported
by attack helicopters, artillery and armed and unarmed drones, the
ministry said on statements posted on Twitter. It did not say how many
commandos are involved.

The ministry said the operation follows
“increasing harassment and attempts to attack” military outposts or
bases near the border area. It said it also targets other terror groups
in the region, but did not name the groups.

“Operation Claw-Tiger is continuing successfully as planned,” the ministry said.

Turkey
regularly carries out air and ground operations against the outlawed
Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which maintains bases in northern Iraq.
Wednesday’s operation was the first known airborne land offensive.

It
came days after Turkey launched an aerial operation in the region,
which the Defense Ministry said hit suspected PKK targets in several
regions in Iraq’s north, including Sinjar, and targeted 81 rebel
hideouts.

There was also no immediate comment from Baghdad or northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

The
PKK has led a decades-long insurgency in Turkey’s mainly-Kurdish
southeast region. It is considered a terror organization by Turkey, the
United States and the European Union. The conflict has led to the loss
of tens of thousands lives since it started in 1984.