The Turkish Defense Ministry announced the killing of 19 militants from the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in airstrikes carried out by Turkish warplanes in northern Iraq. The Turkish Defense Ministry stated in a statement today, Friday, that units of the Turkish army stationed in the regions of Kara, Hakurk and Qandil 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 19 of them and the withdrawal of the others. The Turkish Defense Ministry clarified in its statement that ten militants from the organization were killed in the Kara region, 6 in the Hakurk region and three in the Qandil region during those airstrikes. In its statement, it indicated 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 Turkis h interior from there, and that the Turkish army is working hard to dry up the sources of terrorism. Source: National Iraqi News Agency