ANKARA, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Turkey launched an air attack Thursday on northern Iraq's semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan in response to the killing of a Turkish diplomat in the region, according to a statement of the country's defense minister.
"Following the evil attack in Erbil, we have launched the most comprehensive air operation on Qandil and dealt a heavy blow to the (PKK) terror organisation," Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said in the statement.
Targets such as "armaments positions, lodgings, shelters and caves belonging to terrorists" were destroyed, Akar said.
"Our fight against terror will continue with increasing determination until the last terrorist is neutralised and the blood of our martyrs will be avenged," he added.
On Wednesday afternoon, a Turkish consulate employee and a civilian were killed while another person was wounded when gunmen opened fire at a restaurant in Iraq's northern city of Erbil.
According to information shared by the owner of the restaurant, an attacker, wearing civilian clothes and carrying two guns, opened fire, directly targeting the consular staff when they entered the restaurant, Anadolu Agency reported.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the armed attack and urged Iraqi authorities to swiftly find killers.
Also on Wednesday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Hakim held a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu over the incident.
Al-Hakim said in a statement that this criminal act will not undermine the Iraqi-Turkish ties, but rather enhances the two sides' determination to consolidate their relations.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility as Iraqi security forces began a search for the attackers. Many Iraqi experts said the Turkish separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Ankara considers a terrorist group, was probably behind the attack, according to an AFP report.
The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the EU, resumed its 30-year armed campaign against the Turkish state in July 2015 after a brief period of reconciliation.
A spokesman for the PKK's armed branch denied the group was involved in Wednesday's shooting, according to AFP.
