“Air operations were carried out against terrorist targets in the north of Iraq-Syria at 22:00 on December 23, 2023,” read a statement from Turkey’s defense ministry. “A total of 29 targets, including caves, shelters, oil facilities and warehouses, which were considered to contain terrorists at a high level, were destroyed.”
In the past 24 hours, 12 Turkish soldiers have been killed in clashes with the PKK in the Kurdistan Region’s Duhok province.
The Turkish defense ministry said its Saturday evening airstrikes were “self-defense” with the goal of ending “terrorist attacks” and securing its borders. It also claimed to take precautions to avoid harming civilians or the environment.
North Press Agency, a media outlet based in northeast Syria (Rojava), reported Turkey pounded oil facilities near Derik and shared footage of plumes of thick, black smoke rising over Qamishli.
Both the PKK and Turkey have recently increased their attacks on the other in the Kurdistan Region. Turkey also frequently carries out attacks on groups in Rojava that it believes are PKK offshoots.
Since 2015, at least 6,875 people - combatants and civilians - have been killed in the Turkey-PKK conflict, according to data from the International Crisis Group.
