Istanbul – The Turkish Air force has launched strikes against alleged Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) targets in Sirnak province, in the south-east of the country.
A Kurdish official disclosed this on condition of anonymity on Wednesday in Istanbul.
He said there were high numbers of casualties during the airstrike, which took place in Idil district and came amid worsening violence between militants and the state.
The source complained that Turkey has regularly launched airstrikes against the PKK’s bases in northern Iraq, but it is rarer for the military jets to attack inside the country.
He said many hundreds of people have been killed in violence since July, when a two-year ceasefire collapsed.[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”70560″]
The source said police and army stepped up operations in December, leading to a rapid rise in the number of casualties.
He said available data indicated that 200,000 people, mostly Kurdish citizens of Turkey, have been displaced by the violence and military-imposed, around-the-clock curfews. (dpa/NAN)