At least 15 police officers have been killed in a bomb attack in the country’s east, amid a surge in violence between the state and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Local news organization Anadolu Agency said the September 8 attack targeted a minibus carrying police working at a border gate marking the border with Azerbaijan.
The agency earlier reported that more than 50 warplanes launched overnight raids against the PKK in northern Iraq, killing "35 to 40 terrorists, according to preliminary findings."
The operation came after 16 Turkish soldiers were killed in the country’s southeast on September 6 in a roadside bomb attack blamed on the PKK.
The Turkish military launched an air campaign against PKK strongholds in southeast Turkey and northern Iraq in July, with the militants hitting back with daily attacks on the police and security forces.
Turkey on September 8 confirmed its security forces had crossed into northern Iraq for a "short-term" operation to pursue PKK militants.