Turkish Air Strikes Hit 13 Kurdish Militant Targets in Northern Iraq

A woman holds a flag of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) during a demonstration against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in central Brussels, Belgium, November 17, 2016. (Reuters)
A woman holds a flag of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) during a demonstration against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in central Brussels, Belgium, November 17, 2016. (Reuters)
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Turkish Air Strikes Hit 13 Kurdish Militant Targets in Northern Iraq

A woman holds a flag of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) during a demonstration against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in central Brussels, Belgium, November 17, 2016. (Reuters)
A woman holds a flag of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) during a demonstration against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in central Brussels, Belgium, November 17, 2016. (Reuters)

Türkiye’s military conducted air strikes in northern Iraq on Monday and destroyed 13 Kurdish militant targets, the Turkish Defense Ministry said, adding many militants had been "neutralized" in the attack.

In a statement on social messaging platform X, the ministry said the targets hit in the strikes included caves, shelters, and storage facilities where militants were believed to be. It said the strikes targeted the Hakurk, Gara, Qandil, and Metina regions of northern Iraq.

Türkiye typically uses the term "neutralized" to mean killed.



France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
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France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)

Paris declined to comment on Algeria’s “strong condemnation” of the French government’s decision to recognize Morocco’s claim over the Sahara.

The office of the French Foreign Ministry refused to respond to an AFP request for a comment on the Algeria’s stance.

It did say that further comments could impact the trip Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is set to make to France in late September or early October.

The visit has been postponed on numerous occasions over disagreements between the two countries.

France had explicitly expressed its constant and clear support for the autonomy rule proposal over the Sahara during Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s visit to Morocco in February, reported AFP.

The position has helped improve ties between Rabat and Paris.

On Thursday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry expressed “great regret and strong denunciation" about the French government's decision to recognize an autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region "within Moroccan sovereignty”.

Algeria was informed of the decision by France in recent days, an Algerian foreign ministry statement added.

The ministry also said Algeria would draw all the consequences from the decision and hold the French government alone completely responsible.