Turkey launches fresh military operation in northern Iraq to ‘prevent terror attacks’

Turkey’s Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Monday that Turkish warplanes and artillery hit positions belonging to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant group, adding that commando troops, backed by helicopters and drones, later crossed into the neighboring region by land or were airlifted by helicopters.

The targeted positions include shelters, bunkers, caves, tunnels, and ammunition depots.

In a video posted on the ministry’s website, Akar said the offensive, dubbed “Operation Claw Lock”, focused on the regions of Metina, Zap, and Avashin-Basyan in northern Iraq.

“Our operation is continuing successfully, as planned. The targets that were set for the first phase have been achieved,” the minister said, adding “Our struggle will continue until the last terrorist is neutralized.”

According to the ministry, the offensive was aimed to “prevent terror attacks” and ensure border security following an assessment that the PKK was planning a large-scale assault.

Militants of the PKK — designated as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union — regularly clash with Turkish forces in the Kurdish-dominated southeast of Turkey attached to northern Iraq.

In response, the Turkish military has occupied areas in northern Iraq, where it regularly conducts attacks against purported PKK positions without the Arab country’s consent.

Baghdad has repeatedly condemned Ankara’s ongoing military operations in northern Iraq, warning that Turkey intends to seize control of the strategic northwestern city of Mosul and annex it to its own territory.

Iraqi resistance groups have also time and again warned Turkey of the consequences of its incursions into their country.

Turkey has also violated Syria’s territorial integrity by deploying its military forces there with the professed aim of fighting PKK militants, drawing strong condemnations from the Damascus government.