Turkish Air Force said in a statement that five PKK fighters were “neutralized” during counter-terrorism operations in northern Iraq, Anadolu Agency reported on Friday, December 15.

NRT reported that the Turkish warplanes shelled the areas near the Bradost Mountains northeast of Erbil on Thursday night.

Days earlier, December 11, Turkish warplanes hit Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) targets in northern Iraq on Monday and killed 29 of the group’s militants, Reuters reported.

Several caves and shelters used by the militants were destroyed in the air strikes, Reuters said.

In July 2015, Turkey resumed the shelling of suspected Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) positions inside the Kurdistan Region after a two-year ceasefire between the Turkish military and the PKK came to an end.

Those air strikes have destroyed villages and agricultural areas across the region’s northern border with Turkey. Residents of many villages have evacuated their homes as airstrikes continue.

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