ANKARA, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Turkey will continue anti-terror operations in northern Iraq until the Kurdish militia has been completely defeated, Turkey's Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Tuesday.

During his speech in parliament, Akar vowed that northern Iraq's Sinjar region will not be allowed to become a new stronghold for the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

"We expect the Iraqi government to cooperate with us in eliminating the PKK group's presence in the country," he noted.

The Turkish military has conducted airstrikes on the Kurdish militia since Thursday in Sinjar and Mount Karajak regions, 180 km away from the Turkish border, where PKK is using as their bases.

According to the statement released by the Turkish Defense Ministry on Thursday, the air raids participated with 20 aircrafts "neutralized" eight PKK members and destroyed over 30 targets, including housing facilities, shelters, caves, tunnels, and storage units.

On Friday Iraq's Foreign Ministry summoned Turkish ambassador to protest airstrikes in northern Iraq, rebuking Ankara had violated its national sovereignty.