The Turkish military bombed targets of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in southeastern Turkey and Iraq during airstrikes on Sunday. PKK shelters and gun positions were destroyed during the airstrikes in areas of northern Iraq. At least 14 PKK fighters were killed in the Lice area of southeast Turkey, the military statement said. The airstrikes were carried out a day after deadly twin bomb blasts in Ankara. Tensions in Turkey escalated in mid-summer when the country launched a military campaign against PKK in northern Iraq, after the militant group claimed responsibility for the murders of two Turkish police officers who they say had aligned themselves with Islamic State. On Monday, Turkish Interior Minister Selami Altinok said that the Turkish security forces have killed more than 2,000 PKK militants since July. PKK seeks to create a Kurdish state in parts of Turkey and Iraq. The organization is considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the European Union and NATO.
