(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Turkish jets launched their heaviest assault on Kurdish militants in northern Iraq overnight since air strikes began last week, hours after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said a peace process had become impossible.
The strikes hit Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) targets including shelters, depots and caves in six areas, a statement from Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's office said. A senior official told Reuters it was the biggest assault since the campaign started.
Iraq condemned the air strikes as a "dangerous escalation and an assault on Iraqi sovereignty", saying it was committed to ensuring militant attacks on Turkey were not carried out from within its territory. Turkey launched near-simultaneous strikes against PKK camps in Iraq and Islamic State fighters in Syria last Friday, in what Davutoglu has called a "synchronised fight against terror".
Engaging in conflicts on two fronts is a high-risk strategy for the NATO member, leaving it exposed to the threat of reprisals by jihadists and Kurdish militants. Germany warned yesterday about possible attacks on Istanbul's underground rail network and bus stops.
Turkey has also opened its air bases to the US-led coalition against Islamic State, joining the frontline in the battle against the jihadists after years of reluctance. NATO gave Turkey full political support on Tuesday.
But Turkey's assaults on the PKK have so far been much heavier than its strikes against Islamic State, fuelling suspicions that its real agenda is keeping Kurdish political and territorial ambitions in check, something the
government denies.
Of the 1,302 people arrested in what officials have described as a "full-fledged battle against terrorist groups" in recent days, 847 are accused of links to the PKK and just 137 to Islamic State, government spokesman Bulent
Arinc said.
Turkey has also made it clear that its operations against Islamic State in Syria will not include air cover for Syrian Kurdish fighters also battling the jihadists.
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