Turkish Army Says It Killed 18 Kurdish Militants In Southeast Turkey, North Iraq

The Turkish military says it has killed 18 Kurdish fighters in air strikes in southeast Turkey and northern Iraq.

The army said 12 Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) members were "neutralized" on October 21 in the Cukurca district of Hakkari Province, near the Iraqi border.

In northern Iraq, the strikes hit the Avashin Basyan region, killing six PKK fighters and destroying four targets, it added.

Separately, the military said it fired on 40 Islamic State and six Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) targets in northern Syria.

Syria's army has called Turkish strikes an act of "blatant aggression" and said it would bring down any Turkish war planes entering Syrian air space.

Based on reporting by Reuters and Anadolu