Turkish jets strike Kurdish targets in northern Iraq

Iraq's National Security Council meets to discuss intrusion by Ankara

Members of the PKK inspect a crater reportedly caused by an air strikes by Turkish warplanes in 2015. Turkey continues to strike the region today. AFP

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi has chaired a meeting of the National Security Council in response to strikes by Turkish warplanes on Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq on Sunday night.

Ankara regularly targets the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Turkey's mainly Kurdish south-east and in northern Iraq, where the group is based.

A security source told Reuters the warplanes took off from air bases in Turkey, notably in the south-eastern cities of Diyarbakir and Malatya.

The defence ministry said the air operation targeted the PKK in the region of its stronghold at Qandil, near the Iranian border, and parts of Sinjar, Zap, Avasin-Basyan and Hakurk.

Iraq's National Security council received briefings on security across Iraq, and "discussed a number of policies including measures to counter the disinformation spread by terrorists and others to undermine Iraq’s security and stability".

While Turkish warplanes frequently target PKK targets in northern Iraq, Turkey has also warned in recent years of a possible ground offensive targeting bases in the Qandil mountains.