RUMOURS that de facto Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Cemil Bayik was killed by a Turkish air strike in Iraq on Tuesday night were dismissed today as state propaganda.

Reports carried on various news wires and in Turkish media outlets suggested that Mr Bayik may have been among those killed in a drone strike targeting alleged PKK positions in the Iraqi border area.

Two Iraqi soldiers were killed by strikes on an army convoy in the Sidakan area during the assault, in what President Barham Salih described as a “blatant attack” and a violation of Iraqi sovereignty.