Turkey hits Kurdish militants in Iraq after twin attacks in Istanbul: Report

Ankara: Turkey hit Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq less than 24 hours after twin attacks in Istanbul killed 38 that were claimed by a Kurdish splinter group, local media reported on Monday. Late Saturday, a car bomb exploded outside the home stadium of football giants Besiktas and less than a minute later, a suicide attacker blew himself up by a group of police at a nearby park. [caption id=“attachment_3152358” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AP[/caption] Thirty police officers and seven civilians were killed, while there is one person who has yet to be identified. The attacks were claimed by the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), which is seen as a radical offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The Turkish military, quoted by Dogan news agency, said it hit “separatist terrorist organisation members” Sunday evening, referring to the PKK. The armed forces said it struck targets in the Zap region of northern Iraq destroying the militants’ headquarters as well as nearby shelters and gun positions. The PKK command is based in the Qandil mountains of northern Iraq and the group is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the European Union and the United States. Since 1984, it has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state during which more than 40,000 people have been killed.