Turkey Says it Hit 500 PKK Targets in Northern Iraq

Arab World

June 18th, 8:32am

Asharq Al-Awsat

A handout image made available by the Turkish Ministry of Defense Press Office on June 17, 2020, shows the Turkish Minister of Defense Hulusi Akar (R) looking at a map with members of the Turkish Armed Forces Command during a meeting at the Army Command Control Center in Ankara during the military operation dubbed "Claw-Tiger" on June 17, 2020. AFP PHOTO /Turkish Ministry of Defense Press Office

Turkish forces have hit more than 500 Kurdish targets in northern Iraq as part of an offensive in the region against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the Defense Ministry said on Thursday. Turkish warplanes struck PKK targets in various regions of northern Iraq on Sunday and Tuesday in two separate raids, which Ankara said were in response to an increase in attacks on Turkish army bases. Ankara launched the "Claw-Tiger Operation" on Tuesday in northern Iraq's Haftanin region. A Defense Ministry statement said Turkish F-16 jets, drones and howitzers had hit and destroyed more than 500 PKK targets in 36 hours. "The Claw-Tiger Operation is going very well,” the statement cited Defense Minister Hulusi Akar as saying. “By continuing with the same seriousness and determination, we will conclude the operation with success," he said. Turkey regularly attacks PKK fighters, both in its mainly Kurdish southeast and in northern Iraq, where the group is based. It has also warned in recent years of a potential ground offensive against PKK bases in Iraq's Qandil mountains.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2340921/turkey-says-it-hit-500-pkk-targets-northern-iraq