Turkiye "secure" areas in northern Iraq, where PKK fighters were located

Last Update: 2023-01-17 00:00:00 - Source: Shafaq News

Shafaq News/ The Turkish army controlled PKK sites in northern Iraq as part of the Claw-Lock Operation.

The Turkish colonel, Erkan Shen, said that Ankara secured those areas in Iraqi Kurdistan where the Kurdistan Workers Party launched more than 900 attacks against Turkey, using anti-tank missiles, mortars, rockets, snipers, and drones. The Anadolu News Agency reported.

Shen added that the operation succeeded and would continue.

Last year, Ankara launched an action called "Operation Claw Lock" to "prevent terror attacks" and ensure border security following an assessment that the PKK was planning a large-scale attack.

Turkey regularly launches air strikes into northern Iraq, a region where it has repeatedly sent commandos to support its offensives.

In 2020, Turkey launched operations Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle in the border regions of northern Iraq to "ensure the safety of the Turkish people and frontiers."

The PKK took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which in the past was mainly focused on southeast Turkey.

PKK is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union.