The Turkish Defense Ministry announced the killing of 12 militants from the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in airstrikes carried out by Turkish warplanes in northern Iraq on September 28 and 29. The Turkish Defense Ministry stated in a statement today, Sunday, that units of the Turkish army stationed in the Kara and Hakurk regions in northern Iraq monitored gatherings of militants from the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in rugged mountainous areas, which required the use of warplanes. Their raids on those areas resulted in the killing of 12 of them and the withdrawal of the others. The Turkish Defense Ministry stated in its statement that seven militants from the organization were killed in the Kara region and five in the Hakurk region during those airstrikes. It indicated in its statement that the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has its stronghold in the Qandil Mountains in northern Iraq, and is active in many cities, regions and valleys, launching attacks on the Turkish interior from there, and that the Turkish army is working hard to dry up the sources of terrorism. Source: National Iraqi News Agency