The strikes against the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, came a day after a car bombing killed at least 37 people in Turkey's capital, Ankara.
There has been no claim of responsibility and Turkish officials said they expected to announce the results of the investigation into the blast on Monday.
Turkish forces have been carrying out an offensive against the PKK since July when President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared the fight would continue until every militant is defeated.
Sunday's blast happened near Kizilay square, a key shopping and transportation hub near foreign embassies and government buildings.
Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu said it targeted civilians at a bus stop, and that more than 120 people were wounded.
The United States quickly condemned the attack and reaffirmed its "strong partnership with our NATO ally Turkey in combating the shared threat of terrorism."
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu convened an emergency security meeting after the bombing.
Erdogan vowed that Turkey will defend itself from future attacks and is determined to fight terrorism.
Ankara has been hit by several bombings in recent months, including a car bomb attack in February that killed at least 29 people. The government blamed that attack on a Syrian man with links to Kurdish militia groups.
Turkey has been battling the outlawed PKK, which has waged a 30-year guerrilla war for more Kurdish autonomy in southeastern Turkey.
Turkey also has been targeted by the Islamic State group, which was blamed for last October's suicide bombing at a peace rally in Ankara that killed more than 100 people – the bloodiest single terrorist attack since Turkey became a modern state in 1923.
No comments:
Post a Comment