WATCH: Turkish helicopters target PKK in the Kurdistan Region

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Turkish military helicopters on Thursday hailed down on alleged Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) targets in Ankara’s latest campaign against the Kurdish fighters headquartered on the Kurdistan Region’s northern border.

In a video obtained by Kurdistan 24, Turkish and PKK fighters exchanged heavy fire overnight. Government warplanes also bombarded areas near the [Kurdish] villages of Khalifan, Alakan, Gorashan, Lelkan, and Bradost mountain’s Chiyadel village, all located within the Sidakan subdistrict of Erbil Province, locals told Kurdistan 24.

According to preliminary reports from those areas, there have been no casualties. Locals, however, have expressed fears of leaving their homes due to the constant barrage of gunfire, shellings, and bombardments.

In the video captured by locals, a military helicopter is seen flying in the Kurdistan Region’s airspace, opening fire on mountainous areas where PKK fighters are thought to roam.

The Turkish military regularly releases the results of their latest operations in public statements. In their Thursday report, ahead of that evening’s operation, they claimed to have neutralized—a word the army uses to indicate the killing, capture, or incapacitation of opponents—12 PKK members.

On Wednesday, Duhok Provincial Council member, Idris Harki, stressed to Kurdistan 24 that Turkey shells the Kurdistan Region’s areas as a response to the presence of PKK fighters and that the best solution would be for the latter to withdraw. This, he said, would leave Ankara no excuse to continue its bombardments.

Turkish forces have fought the PKK since the early 1980s in a conflict that has resulted in the death of over 40,000 people on both sides. The group is designated a ‘terrorist’ organization by Turkey, the European Union (EU), and the US.

Editing by Nadia Riva