DThe Turkish military says it has “neutralized” at least 26 terrorists in air strikes in northern Syria and northern Iraq. The Ministry of Defense announced this on Monday. As a rule, the government in Ankara uses the term “neutralize” to mean that people are killed, injured or captured.
The attacks followed clashes with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq in which the Turkish military said at least 12 Turkish soldiers were killed on Friday and Saturday. The information could not be independently verified.
The PKK, which is on the terrorist list in Turkey, Europe and the United States, has its headquarters in the Qandil Mountains in northern Iraq. Tens of thousands of people have already been killed in the conflict with the Turkish state. A peace process failed in 2015. Since then, Ankara has again taken regular action against the PKK in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq, which in turn has carried out attacks.
In Turkey, police arrested 52 members of the pro-Kurdish Equality and Democracy Party. According to security sources, the Kurdish politicians were arrested at a meeting of the party's youth organization in Diyarbakir province. Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said on X, formerly Twitter, that the suspects were charged with “praising crime and criminals” and “spreading propaganda for terrorist organizations.” The party leadership called the arrests politically motivated and called for the release of its members.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses the opposition party of having ties to the banned Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK). The organization, which is classified as terrorist in the EU and the United States, has been fighting against the Turkish state since 1984 and wants to achieve autonomy for the Kurdish settlement areas. Turkish forces regularly launch attacks on PKK militants in neighboring Iraq.
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