Turkish forces are seen near Mount Barsaya, northeast of Afrin, Syria January 23, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Two service members of the Turkish military were reportedly killed while taking part in Operation Claw-Lock in Iraq’s northern region.
The Turkish Ministry of National Defense said that the soldiers were operating in Metina area on November 5 when fighters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) targeted them with an improvised explosive device. Sergeant Halil Yildiz was killed on the spot, while Private Fırat Güner succumbed to his wounds a day later.
Operation Claw-Lock has been ongoing since mid-April. The main goal of the large-scale operation is to neutralize the remaining cells of the PKK in the areas of Metina, Zap and Avashin Basyan in the Kurdistan Region.
The new casualties brought to 62 the number of Turkish troops killed in the northern Iraqi region since the beginning of the operation.
Click to see full-size image. Source: the Turkish Ministry of National Defense.
Click to see full-size image. Source: the Turkish Ministry of National Defense.
The Turkish military inflicted some serious human and material losses on the PKK in the very first weeks of Operation Claw-Lock. However, the group is still as active as before in northern Iraq and Ankara is paying a heavy political price for the operation.
Last July, the central government in Baghdad called on Ankara to withdraw all of its forces from the country following a series of Turkish strikes that targeted resorts in the province of Duhok. The strikes killed nine civilians, including a one-year-old child. The relations between Turkey and Iraq have been tense ever since.
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