DThe Turkish military has carried out air strikes against suspected Kurdish militias in northern Syria and Iraq. Early on Saturday morning, 29 positions of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were attacked and destroyed, the Defense Ministry in Ankara announced on the X platform, formerly Twitter. 20 fighters were “neutralized” in northern Iraq. As a rule, the government in Ankara means that people have been killed, injured or captured.

At least nine Turkish soldiers were killed in clashes with PKK fighters in northern Iraq on Friday. At least four soldiers were injured, the Defense Ministry said. The incident occurred when PKK fighters tried to break into a military base near the Turkish border. It was the second deadly clash between the Turkish military and the PKK in three weeks.

On Saturday night, a total of 113 people with suspected connections to the PKK were arrested in raids in 32 Turkish cities and provinces, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on the X platform. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will convene an extraordinary meeting with the heads of security and intelligence agencies later on Saturday, Erdogan's office said.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization in Turkey, Europe and the United States. Tens of thousands of people have already been killed in the decades-long conflict with the Turkish state. A peace process failed in 2015.