Turkish F-16 jets hit PKK targets, 20 terrorists killed

A total of 20 PKK terrorists were neutralized in the Southeast in the latest wave of Turkish air strikes, said the intelligence units.

Turkish warplanes bombed firing positions, belonging to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, in southeast Turkey after the terrorists killed a soldier in the area early Wednesda. 20 terrorists in total, consisting of two groups of ten, were killed during the raids.

A group of PKK terrorists, armed with long-barrellled guns, opened fire at 7:05 a.m. on troops conducting searches on a road in the Semdinli district of Hakkari province, the General Staff said on its website.

In a retaliatory act, one soldier was killed and two others were slightly injured and then taken to the hospital by a helicopter," it said.

Two F-16 fighter jets then destroyed the PKK's anti-aircraft weapon positions in the area, where drones, attack helicopters and military reinforcements are still operating.

Some 70 members of the Turkish security forces have been killed since PKK attacks began in early July. The state-run Anadolu Agency says more than 900 PKK terrorists have been killed in southeast Turkey and in Iraq since July 22.

The PKK, designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, took up arms in 1984, and more than 40,000 people have since been killed.