3 Turkish soldiers killed, 5 injured in northern Iraq
The Turkish flag and a Turkish soldier. AP image.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced on Tuesday that three of its soldiers were killed, and five were injured, in the Operation Claw Lock in northern Iraq, according to a statement of the Turkish Ministry of Defense cited by al-Arabiya news.
According to the statement, the Turkish soldiers were killed during clashes with militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), while injured soldiers were transferred to a hospital.
On April 18, Turkey launched the Operation Claw Lock against the strongholds of PKK in Metina, Zap and Avashin-Basyan in northern Iraq.
Six people including three civilians were killed last Saturday in a Turkish drone bombardment targeting the PKK in northern Iraq, according to al-Arabiya news.
Ankara often bombards sites belong to PKK in northern Iraq especially in the autonomous Kurdistan region.
Turkey frequently carries out attacks against military bases and training camps of the PKK near Sinjar town in Nineveh governorate, and in mountainous areas in Kurdistan region bordering Turkey.
The PKK, Ankara and its western allies describe as a ‘terrorist group,’ has been staging a rebellion against Turkey since 1984, and is based in mountainous areas in northern Iraq.