Turkish Army neutralizes six PKK member in KRI and Syria
Shafaq News/ On Monday, the Turkish Ministry of Defenseannounced the neutralization of six members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party(PKK) in Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) and Syria.
The ministry stated in a post on X that “Turkish forcesneutralized three PKK members in the Claw-Lock operation area in northern Iraq.”
Other three PKK members were neutralized in Syria, withinthe Peace Spring operation area in the country's north, the ministry added.
The term “neutralize” is commonly used by Turkishauthorities to indicate that the individuals were either killed, captured, orsurrendered during military operations.
No further information was provided about the exact locationand the nature of the operation.
Operation Peace Spring, launched by Turkiye on October 9,2019, and concluding on November 25, 2019, aimed to establish a "safezone" by driving Kurdish forces away from the Turkish-Syrian border.During this time, Turkish forces and their allies captured key territories,including Ras al-Ayn, Tell Abyad, and sections of the strategic M4 highway,securing control over an area of approximately 4,820 square kilometers.
The Claw-Lock operation, launched by Turkiye in April 2021,targets the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the KRI, particularly in regionssuch as Gara, Hakurk, and Metina.
In addition, the Turkish Ministry of Defense revealed, inanother statement that the army seized weapons and military equipment in a cavebelieved to be a PKK hideout in Hakurk, in the KRI. Items confiscated include oneAT-4 anti-tank weapon, rocket launchers, hand grenades, rifles, electricdetonators, materials used for making IEDs.
The PKK, labeled a terrorist organization by Turkiye, theUnited States, and the European Union, has been waging an armed insurgencyagainst the Turkish government since the 1980s in pursuit of greater autonomyfor Kurds in Turkiye. This prolonged conflict has resulted in tens of thousandsof fatalities, prompting Turkiye to carry out cross-border military operationstargeting PKK bases in Iraq and YPG forces in Syria, which Ankara considersoffshoots of the PKK.
