Turkey Retaliates with Deadly Airstrikes in Iraq and Syria After Ankara Attack
Turkey Retaliates with Deadly Airstrikes in Iraq and Syria After Ankara Attack
In response to a deadly attack at a state-owned defense manufacturer in Ankara that killed five people and wounded more than 20 others, Turkey has hit Kurdish military targets in Iraq and Syria. The attack is being blamed on the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and the retaliatory strikes have reportedly killed 12 people, including two children, and wounded 25 others. While the U.S. Defense Department has yet to comment on the attack or the strikes, tensions in the region remain high as the PKK's leader, Abdullah Ocalan, has signaled a willingness to end the violent conflict that has raged since the mid-1980s. The attack and the strikes come at a time of renewed talks between the Turkish government and the PKK's leader, who has been imprisoned in Turkey for more than two decades.