Turkish warplanes strike PKK targets in N Iraq

Turkish General Staff said on Friday that air strikes have been waged against targets of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) based in northern Iraq during the last two days, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

General Staff Communication Department Chief Gen. Metin Gurak was quoted as saying at a weekly press briefing in capital Ankara on Friday that Turkish warplanes hit PKK targets in Hakurk region during Feb. 4-5.

Necessary precautions were taken as usual during the air operation to avoid any harm to civilians, he added.

He said two PKK members were captured and one PKK member surrendered to Turkish Security Forces during the counter-terrorism activities carried out by Turkish Armed Forces since Jan. 30.

The Turkish forces take tougher actions against the PKK after the country's legislature extended on Oct. 8 the government's mandate to launch cross-border operations against the rebels in northern Iraq.

The PKK took up arms in 1984 to create an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey. Some 40,000 people have been killed in the over-two-decade conflict.