Turkey seizes 1,043 weapons in northern Iraq since April

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Turkish army announced it seized 1,043 weapons of militants belonging to Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) within Operation Claw Lock in northern Iraq since April 17, according to a statement of the Turkish Ministry of Defense cited by the Anadolu Agency.

The statement mentioned that Operation Claw Lock seriously affected the militants in northern Iraq.

The statement also revealed that the seized weapons include two SA-18 Igla shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles, 40 anti-tank rounds, 36 mortar shells, 106 rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), 22 grenade launchers, 50 DShK machine guns known as Dushka, 31 Zagros sniper rifles, 85 PKC machine guns, 519 Kalashnikov rifles, 79 M16 rifles and 73 Dragunov SVD sniper rifles.

Ankara launched the Operation Claw Lock last April against strongholds of PKK militants and its loyal factions, which Ankara classifies as terrorist groups, 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.