A group of armed Kurdish fighters from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) enter northern Iraq in the Heror area, north-east of Dahuk, in 2013. AP
A group of armed Kurdish fighters from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) enter northern Iraq in the Heror area, north-east of Dahuk, in 2013. AP

Turkish air strikes kill 26 militants in south-east Turkey and Iraq, army says



Turkish air strikes killed 26 militants and destroyed their gun positions, shelters and ammunition stores in south-east Turkey and northern Iraq this week, Turkey's military said on Tuesday.

The military said in a statement on Twitter that the strikes were carried out on Sunday and Monday in Diyarbakir and Sirnak provinces and an area of northern Iraq where the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group has bases.

The Turkish military has ramped up air strikes in northern Iraq, targeting PKK bases in Qandil, close to the Iraq-Iran border, where Ankara suspects high-ranking members of the outlawed group are located.

Ankara has also recently stepped up warnings of a potential ground offensive into the Qandil region, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowing to "drain the terror swamp" there.

______________

Read more

Baghdad denies giving support for Turkish anti-PKK operation

Syria-Turkey wall completed

Turkey and US agree on road map to avert crisis in Syria's Manbij

______________

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday that Turkish troops were advancing on Qandil with "determined steps".

Separately, a Turkish soldier was killed and two wounded on Tuesday by an improvised explosive device planted by the PKK in the south-eastern province of Siirt, the governor's office said.

In the neighbouring province of Sirnak, bordering Iraq, two Turkish soldiers were killed and three others wounded in two separate explosions, a security source said.

The PKK, which has waged an insurgency in the mainly Kurdish south-east of Turkey since 1984, is designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and European Union.

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

Details

Through Her Lens: The stories behind the photography of Eva Sereny

Forewords by Jacqueline Bisset and Charlotte Rampling, ACC Art Books

Election pledges on migration

CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections" 

SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom" 

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now