Raids and airstrikes
Türkiye reports 20 arrests after bomb attack
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Turkey is reacting harshly to yesterday’s attack in the capital: the Turkish military carried out air strikes on PKK positions in northern Iraq during the night, and “terrorists” are said to have been neutralized. Now there are raids and arrests in Turkish provinces.
A day after the bombing in Ankara, Turkish security forces began raids in several provinces of the country. The Interior Ministry announced on the X platform that 20 people have been arrested so far in Istanbul and Kirikkale province. The Interior Ministry said weapons and ammunition were confiscated during searches in other provinces.
According to government information, an attacker blew himself up in front of the entrance to the Interior Ministry on Sunday morning. Another was killed by a shot in the head. According to reports, two police officers were slightly injured in the exchange of fire after the explosion. The banned Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK claimed responsibility for the attack on Sunday evening. The crime was carried out by members of the “Immortal Battalion”.
In an initial reaction, the Turkish military said it carried out air strikes on PKK positions in northern Iraq on Monday night. The Defense Ministry reported that a “large number of terrorists were neutralized.” The term usually means “kill”. The PKK-affiliated ANF news agency confirmed attacks and wrote that there was initially no information about anyone injured. The attacks were therefore directed against civilian infrastructure.
Türkiye attacks civilian infrastructure in Kurdish areas
A total of 20 targets were destroyed, including PKK caves, bunkers, shelters and depots in Metina, Hakurk, Kandil and Gara. Iraqi President Abdul-Latif Rashid said Iraq rejects repeated Turkish airstrikes or the presence of Turkish bases in its Kurdistan region and hopes to reach an agreement with the Turkish government to resolve the issue.
Thousands of people have been killed in the decades-long conflict between the PKK and the Turkish state. Ankara regularly carries out military operations against the PKK in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq. This in turn repeatedly carries out attacks, especially on Turkish security forces. But civilians also die
