Turkey speeds up attacks on Kurdish groups in Syria, Iraq

ANKARA — Turkey’s Defense Minister Yasar Guler said Wednesday that the armed forces “neutralized” 59 people in Syria and northern Iraq in retaliation for the killing of Turkish soldiers.

Turkey’s armed forces and intelligence agency have been conducting cross-border airstrikes since the Turkish Defense Ministry announced last week that 12 Turkish soldiers were killed as a result of attacks on the troops by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) on Dec. 22-23 in northern Iraq where the militant group is headquartered. 

“In retaliation for those attacks, we conducted airstrikes on 71 targets. A total of 59 terrorists were neutralized in air campaigns, clashes and other strikes,” Guler said during a meeting with army top brass in Ankara. 

In Syria, local media reported several attacks on infrastructure, including oil facilities in areas controlled by Kurdish groups.