Turkish forces are seen near Mount Barsaya, northeast of Afrin, Syria January 23, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
The Turkish military continues to chase the cells of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region in the framework of Operation Claw-Lock.
On September 15, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense released footage showing loads of weapons, ammunition and military equipment which were recently seized from two caves of the Kurdish guerilla group in the Operation Claw-Lock zone.
Assault rifles, snipers, heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, hand grenades, mortars, thermal gun sights and communication equipment were found in the two caves, which were dug in the side of Kurdistan’s rough mountains.
The Turkish military launched Operation Claw-Lock on April 17 with the aim of neutralizing PKK cells in the areas of Metina, Zap and Avashin Basyan.
According to the Turkish Ministry of National Defense, 371 fighters of the PKK have been killed, wounded or captured since the start of the operation.
Operation Claw-Lock was not without a cost for Turkey. Just last week, the Turkish military acknowledged that that three of its military service members had been killed by the PKK. The causalities brought to 54 the number of Turkish troops killed in the Kurdistan Region since the beginning of the operation.
Despite its mounting losses and the increasing political pressure from Iraq, Turkey appears to be determined to go on with its anti-PKK operation in the Kurdistan Region.
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Its not a cave its a mine,
Looks like a stay-behind cache.