Three Turkish soldiers died Thursday in an attack in northern Iraq launched by Kurdish militants, prompting a retaliatory air strike, the Turkish defense ministry said.
"Three of our heroic soldiers were killed in an attack staged by the terrorists in the north of Iraq," the ministry said, referring to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
"There's an ongoing operation in the region."
Turkish forces routinely conduct military strikes against PKK hideouts in the mountains of northern Iraq.
