Turkey hits 70 sites linked to Kurdish groups in Syria and Iraq in retaliation for soldiers’ deaths

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s defense minister says the military has hit more than 70 sites linked to Kurdish groups in Syria and northern Iraq in aerial strikes launched in retaliation for the deaths of 12 Turkish soldiers in Iraq. Yasar Guler said Wednesday at least 59 militants were killed in the strikes as well as in clashes. On Friday, militants affiliated with the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, attempted to infiltrate a Turkish base in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, killing six soldiers. Six others were killed in clashes the following day. The PKK has led a decades-long insurgency in Turkey and is considered a terror organization by Turkey’s Western allies.