Ankara announces two Turkish soldiers killed in northern Iraq
The flag of Turkey. Photo: AP
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced on Sunday that two soldiers were killed in Operation Claw Lightning area in northern Iraq.
The Turkish ministry mentioned in a statement that two soldiers were seriously injured by an improvised explosive device planted by militants belonging to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the area of the operation on Saturday.
The statement clarified that the two soldiers were transported to a hospital, however, one of them, Sergeant Khalil Yildiz, died despite the medical attempts to save his life.
The Turkish Ministry of Defense, in another statement, mentioned that the other soldier died of his wounds.
Turkey is carrying out military operations to combat the PKK which Ankara classifies as a terrorist group, and which is active in some countries in the region, such as Syria, Iraq and Iran.
The two military operations Claw Lightning and Claw Thunderbolt were launched by the Turkish army in 2021, following operations Claw Eagle and Claw Tiger in 2020.
Ankara also launched Operation Claw Lock last April against strongholds of PKK militants and its loyal factions in northern Iraq.
Last July, Iraq submitted a complaint to the UN Security Council against Turkey, and summoned its diplomats from Ankara, after Baghdad accused Turkey of bombing a tourist resort in the northern governorate of Duhok which resulted in nine deaths and 23 injuries.
The UN Security Council held a session at the request of Iraq in which the Iraqi Foreign Minister, Fuad Hussein, called for an urgent resolution obligating Turkey to withdraw its forces from the Iraqi territories, and to form an independent international team to investigate the bombing of Duhok in northern Iraq.
Although Turkey and Iraq are two important trading partners, but these operations put pressure on the relations between Ankara and Iraq’s central government in Baghdad which accuses Turkey of violating its territorial integrity.
On the other hand, the PKK described by Ankara and its western allies as a ‘terrorist group’ has been staging a rebellion against Turkey since 1984, and is based in mountainous areas in northern Iraq.