Turkey’s armed forces said on Monday some 145-160 Kurdish guerrillas were killed in the military’s air and artillery strikes in northern Iraq this month, raising the toll from between 90 and 100 rebels.
The attacks, the first in more than a year on suspected Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebel bases in Iraq, were launched after PKK assaults in Turkey killed more than 40 security force personnel over the previous month.
The raids have fuelled tensions between Turkey and the semi-autonomous Kurdish region after lraqi Kurdish officials said one air strike killed seven civilians a week ago, triggering protests in the capital Arbil and other towns.