Turkish jets conduct airstrikes against Kurdish rebels in Iraq – military

Jets from Turkey carried out cross-border airstrikes on Monday targeting Turkish Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, Ankara has said. The latest ‘Operation Claw-Eagle’ hit suspected targets of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in several regions in Iraq’s north, including Sinjar, the Turkish Defense Ministry tweeted.

The military claimed 81 PKK targets were struck, including shelters and caves, saying that the jets took maximum care not to harm civilians. There was no immediate statement from the PKK, which has waged a more than three-decade-old insurgency in southeastern Turkey. Ankara frequently conducts aerial attacks against the PKK, which maintains bases in northern Iraq.

In a separate development, Turkish police fired tear gas and plastic bullets on Monday at pro-Kurdish demonstrators supporting opposition lawmakers who had been removed from parliament, AFP said.

Dozens of people reportedly rallied in Silivri, northwest Turkey, after the parliament barred a deputy from the Republican People’s Party (CHP), along with two from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), from serving in the assembly.