Jun 4, 2018

Turkish troops are advancing on the mountainous Qandil region of northern Iraq where the leadership of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) is based, a senior minister said Monday, as military operations are stepped up.

Several Turkish troops have been killed in the region in recent months during clashes with the PKK, although the authorities remain vague over where the fighting is taking place.

Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told the state-run Anadolu news agency the target was the Qandil mountains, the PKK's key military base.

"Qandil is not a distant target for us," Soylu said.

"Right now several areas were taken under control, especially in the northern Iraqi region," he added.