Turkish army kills 6 militant in northern Iraq
Turkish soldiers. Photo: AFP
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Turkish army announced on Tuesday it killed six militants belong to Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, according to the Turkish Defense Ministry statement reported by the Anadolu Agency.
The statement of the Turkish Ministry of Defense mentioned that the militants were eliminated within the scope of Operation Claw Lock.
The Turkish army confirmed it would continue its operations against terrorists 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.
Turkey launched the Operation Claw Lock on April 18 against the strongholds of PKK in Metina, Zap and Avashin-Basyan in northern Iraq.
The Operation Claw Lock comes after two other military operations named Claw Lightning and Claw Thunderbolt in 2021, and Claw Eagle and Claw Tiger in 2020.
Although Turkey and Iraq are two important trading partners, but these operations put pressure on the relations between Ankara and the central Iraqi government in Baghdad which accuses Turkey of violating its territorial integrity.
On the other hand, 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.