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At around 2100 hours local time, 12 Turkish warplanes crossed the Kurdistan Region border and carried out an offensive operation affecting several villages near Qandil mountain (Barda Shal, Qalatokan, Zargali, Kozine and Bokliskan).
Residents of Zargali told the local newspaper ‘Hawlati’ that about 40 families have been forced to leave their homes while others in nearby villages have already fled their homes and farms as a result of previous Turkish bombardments since 2009. So far there have been no reports of fatalities.
Reuters quotes a claim by Turkish sources that their targets included anti-aircraft defences and shelters for guerrillas of the Turkish Kurdish PKK. The air raids followed reports of an attack by guerrillas on a military convoy in southeastern Turkey. Eleven solders and a member of the state-backed village guard militia were killed in the ambush in Hakkari province’s Cukurca district near the Iraqi border, Turkish media reported. The PKK did not immediately claim responsibility.
