Turkey strikes PKK sites in Iraq and Syria after Ankara attack

Turkish forces conducted airstrikes targeting a Kurdish armed group’s positions in northern Syria and Iraq on Wednesday evening, in retaliation for the Ankara attack that killed five and injured more than 20 others.

The Ministry of National Defense announced that 32 Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) targets were destroyed.

"During these operations, all necessary measures have been taken to ensure that innocent civilians, friendly elements, historical and cultural assets and the environment are not harmed," the ministry said in a statement.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led coalition backed by the US, said 12 civilians were killed, including two children, and 25 others were injured in a statement released on Thursday.

"In addition to populated areas, Turkish warplanes and UAVs (drones) targeted bakeries, power stations, oil facilities, and Internal Security Force checkpoints. These essential civic facilities were among the 42 civic sites struck by Turkish artillery shelling," the SDF statement said.

While Turkey did not specify the targeted locations, SDF spokesman Farhad Shami said its forces hit Tal Rifaat, Derik, Al-Shahba’a, and Kobani city.

The air raids came hours after an attack on the headquarters of state-run Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS) in Ankara. The two attackers were killed, according to Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya. The assailants had reportedly detonated an explosive after arriving in a taxi, after which they opened fire. 

No group claimed responsibility for the attack, although the Turkish minister of interior blamed the PKK, a Kurdish armed group that operates in northern Iraq and Syria. 

Analysts have said the attack targeting TUSAS is not a coincidence. TUSAS produces drones and aircraft often used by the Turkish military in its operations against the PKK. 

Turkey regularly conducts air raids targeting PKK members and bases in northern Iraq. The operations have previously caused tensions with Iraqi authorities for breaching its territorial sovereignty. 

However, relations have thawed with Iraq and Turkey signing an MoU on military, security and counter-terrorism cooperation in August. The deal does not stipulate whether Turkish forces will be withdrawn from the border area. The Iraqi government also declared the PKK an outlawed group earlier this year.

A designated terrorist organisation by Turkey and its Western allies, the PKK has been carrying out an insurgency since 1984, primarily operating in northern Iraq’s Dahuk province and southeastern Turkey. More than 40,000 people have been killed in PKK attacks, including many Kurdish civilians.

The attack came a day after Erdogan’s far-right nationalist party raised the possibility of negotiations to release imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan if he disbands the outlawed organisation.

Ocalan helped found the PKK in 1978 and was detained by members of the Turkish intelligence service and CIA in 1999 while in Kenya. He has been imprisoned in Turkey since then. The group's initial goal was to establish an independent Kurdish state. It later pivoted its demands to gain greater rights and partial autonomy in southeast Turkey.