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On June 18th, the Turkish Ministry of Defense gave an update on its operation Claw-Tiger in Northern Iraq’s Haftanin region.
According to the security sources, in the first 36 hours of the operation, Turkish forces hit over 500 targets of the PKK terror group in the region with F-16 jets, howitzers and multiple rockets.
Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar addressed the commanders of the troops via video link, saying: “Operation Claw-Tiger is going very well.”
“We will continue with the same seriousness and determination and hopefully we will successfully end this operation,” Akar said.
Millî Savunma Bakanı Hulusi Akar operasyona katılan birlik komutanlarına seslendi: “#PençeKaplan Operasyonu gayet güzel şekilde gidiyor. Aynı ciddiyet ve kararlılıkla devam edip inşallah başarılı bir şekilde bu operasyonu da sonlandıracağız".https://t.co/1PqxUhGIwR#HulusiAkar pic.twitter.com/RarqdpJcx0
— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) June 18, 2020
A video was released of Turkish-made helicopters carrying out operations against PKK in Northern Iraq.
Kahraman topçularımız da Fırtına obüsleri ve ÇNRA atışlarıyla teröristlerin sığınak, barınak ve mevzilerini yerle bir etmeye devam ediyor.#MSB #TSK #PençeKaplan pic.twitter.com/Z6EjnpHUnP
— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) June 17, 2020
#PençeKaplan Operasyonu kapsamında Haftanin bölgesine hava hücum harekâtı ile kahraman komandolarımız inmeye devam ediyor. #MSB #TSK pic.twitter.com/IYWjVtokoO
— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) June 17, 2020
The fact that Iraq has not taken any concrete step toward ending the presence of the PKK terrorist organization in the country has been met with regret in Turkey, the country’s ambassador to Baghdad said.
Fatih Yıldız’s remarks came after he was summoned by Iraq’s foreign ministry over the military operation Turkey launched against the PKK in the country’s north.
Baghdad handed a protest note to the ambassador after Turkey launched Operation Claw-Eagle on June 15th to ensure the security of the Turkish people and the country’s borders by neutralizing the PKK.
“I have said that the fact that Iraq has not taken any concrete step toward ending the presence of the PKK terrorist organization in the country has saddened Turkey,” Yıldız told Anadolu Agency.
“I also stressed to my Iraqi counterpart that Turkey had to take the necessary steps in the face of this situation within the framework of the right to self-defense arising from international law,” Yıldız said.
In a statement, Iraq’s foreign ministry said it condemned “a violation of (its) sovereignty” during the offensive by the Turkish security forces. The ministry said on Twitter that its undersecretary, Abdul Karim Hashim, had met Yıldız.
Turkey, however, is undeterred in its activities, be it in Northern Iraq, Northwestern and Northeastern Syria, as well as even in Libya.
The activities against PKK outside of Turkey are not at the expense of operations against PKK inside the country.
As of June 2020, there are reportedly 483 PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) members left in Turkey.
This was announced by Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu on June 17th.
“We hope to see that the numbers will gradually fall below 400 first and then 300. Finally, we will see them all escaping out of fear,” Soylu said.
Turkey has designated PKK as a terrorist organization.
Turkish security forces regularly conduct operations in the eastern and southeastern provinces of Turkey where the PKK has attempted to establish a strong presence.
The military has adopted “ending terrorism at its root” and “attack rather than defense” strategies through its operations across the country.
Some 122,054 operations, including 116,650 in rural areas, targeted PKK members in 2019 alone, successfully detained or killed many of the group’s top figures.
According to Interior Ministry data, there were between 835 and 1,995 PKK members in January 2017, while the number dropped to between 1,100 and 1,200 by January 2018, 755 to 876 in January 2019 and under 500 in January 2020, equating to an 83% drop over four years and the lowest figures in three decades.
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Good news. Kurds are snakes.
And how is turkey able to afford all these military activities with its stagnated economy and low value of Turkish Lira? While the region seams to agree that Turkish action against Kurds is Justified, Turks numerous operations spanning from Iraq to Libya may suggest that some power(s) are supporting it. This power(s) is obviously using turkey to achieve some interests that are not very clear now, while assisting turkey to expand its control in Libya and Syria and achieve destruction of PKK groups in Syria and Iraq
Turkey is the regional power. Turkey do whatever he wants. We are the legacy of Ottoman.
Bullshit is what you are peddling. Turkey is named appropriately at least.
Eh, Turkey is a G20 country. Sure Turkish Lira is crumbling and economy is a mess but these operations’ costs relative to Turkey’s economic size is not really a big deal. Not to mention they have a decent defense industry. Weapons, bullets, UAVs and their ammunitions etc. are all produced by Turkey. The biggest cost i guess would be fuel and oil but thanks to daddy US oil prices have collapsed so not much problem there either.
Soon the same topic in Gaza, for Lebanon we have thousands targets more.
Stupid JEW PUNK lol
GAS THE KIKES & SAVE PALESTINE!
Imagine if I was around, the neo-Ottomans wont dare attack Iraq. Also, kurds are traitors and deserve this.
all that ammunition spent to kill trees and rocks… pity dont they respect the environment??
We will know in the coming days what the position of the Iraqi Kurds is, as well as Iraq, US, and Israel. lol
To the question as how Turkey manages to conduct 3 military operations simultaneously in Syria, Iraq and Libya with the stagnated economy and low Turkish Lira, I would say that majority of the finance comes from Qatar. Low oil prices also makes a difference. Qatar is one of the most important financial resources of Turkey as we speak. For that favor, Turkey provides security for Qatar in return especially against Saudi bullying. Turkey has already an important military base in Qatar. Turkey also performs a successful foreign policy in between US and Russia, playing a balancing act in between. For instance US and NATO doesn’t want to see a Russian base in Libya so Turkey has the backing of those. In Syria Turkey cooperates with Russia. This doesn’t necessarily make Turkey a lackey of US or NATO. In fact just last week Turkish navy scared off a French NATO military vessel off Libya’s coast by engaging its missiles. Some behind-the-door agreement with Russia also made the Russians to pull out the notorious Wagner mercenaries out of Libya. For Turkey the Kurds in Syria and Iraq remains an existential threat. The Kurds are used as proxy by the US and Israel to exert power in the region. However US and the west in general in decline I don’t see much of a bright future for the lackey Kurds.