The operation last Thursday was ordered in light of intelligence that Riza Altun, top aide to PKK leader Cemil Bayik, and other senior member were set to hold a meeting on Qandil, near the Iranian border, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The strikes by Turkish jets seriously injured Altun, Anadolu reported.

The operation also killed several top PKK member, including its so-called foreign relations officer "Navdar," codenamed Mikail Ozdemir, so-called spokesman "Serhat Varto," codenamed Emrullah Dursun, and the so-called Qandil regional manager "Sinan Sor," code-named Ali Aktas.

Reporter’s code: 50101