ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish forces has killed 19 militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) during air strikes in northern Iraq, the Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.

The air strikes targeted several regions in northern Iraq, including the Qandil mountains, a PKK stronghold, Turkey’s Defence Ministry said on Twitter.

Turkey regularly carries out air strikes against PKK targets in neighboring northern Iraq.

The PKK, considered a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Turkey, has waged a three-decade insurgency in Turkey’s largely Kurdish southeast that has killed about 40,000 people.