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Turkish airstrikes hit Iraq as Erdogan calls for draining 'terror swamp'

Turkey's president is boasting of new anti-terror operations in northern Iraq, but no reports have emerged of a ground offensive and the consensus is that Erdogan’s latest chest-pounding is more about winning votes than fighting Kurdish militants.
ERBIL, IRAQ - DECEMBER 15:  PKK Supporters demonstrate in front of the UN building during a protest against the Turkish Government in which they called for Abdullah Ocalan to be freed, on December 15, 2017 in Erbil, Iraq. (Photo by Younes Mohammad/Getty Images)

Turkey has launched a fresh wave of airstrikes against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today, part of an ongoing effort to weaken and destroy the group known as the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

Addressing a campaign rally in the central Anatolian Nigde province, Erdogan said, “We’ve started anti-terror operations in Qandil and Sinjar. We have destroyed 14 important targets with our aircraft. … The [job] is not finished yet.”

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