Turkey hits 16 Kurdish targets in Iraq: Minister

Ankara, Sep 30 (IANS) Turkish forces have destroyed 16 targets of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Iraq, Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said.

The operation destroyed caves, bunkers, shelters and command posts of the PKK, a Kurdish militant political organisation which is outlawed by Ankara, in the Asos Mountain region of Iraq on Tuesday, the Minister told reporters on Thursday.

The targets were hit by airstrikes of the Turkish Air Force, Xinhua news agency quoted local media reports as saying.

Turkey respects the territorial integrity and sovereignty rights of all its neighbours, especially Iraq and Syria, Akar noted.

"Syrians are our brothers, Iraqis are our brothers. There is no problem with that. Our problem is terrorists. We are after terrorists. This struggle will continue until the last terrorist is eliminated," he said.

Turkey regularly conducts cross-border operations on the PKK bases in northern Iraq.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, has been rebelling against the Ankara government for over 30 years.

Iraq has protested against the Turkish operation as a violation of its sovereignty.