US ‘saddened’ by PKK killing of Turkish soldiers in Kurdistan Region: statement

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The US embassy in Ankara said on Friday that it was “saddened” by the killing of three Turkish soldiers by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on the Kurdistan Region’s Mount Gara this week. 

“Saddened by the killing of Turkish soldiers by PKK terrorists. Our condolences to the families of the fallen. We stand by our #NATO ally Turkey,” read a tweet from the embassy late Friday.

Despite their disagreements over the issue of Kurds in northeast Syria (Rojava), the US, like many of Turkey’s allies, officially considers the PKK – an armed group fighting for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey – to be a terrorist organization.

Syrian Kurdish fighters, which Turkey regards as the Syrian offshoot of the PKK, are key US allies in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS).
 
Turkey launched Operation Claw-Eagle 2 against the PKK on Wednesday. It follows Operation Claw-Eagle, an aerial bombardment campaign launched in June 2020, which targeted various areas in the Kurdistan Region and territory disputed between Erbil and Baghdad. 

The latest operation is both a ground and air operation. 

Three Turkish soldiers, including two senior commanders, were killed by the PKK in the first two days of the offensive, according to the Turkish defense ministry. 

The PKK claims the Turkish casualties are higher, putting the number of deaths at more than 30 in addition to “tens” of injuries.

It has yet to release figures of PKK casualties, but denies Turkish defense ministry claims that 37 PKK fighters have been “neutralized” – used to imply killed or captured- so far. 

The funerals of the three Turkish soldiers were held in Ankara on Friday, attended by top military officials including defense minister Hulusi Akar.

Turkey has used more than 40 jets, drones, and tanker aircrafts in the offensive, targeting the PKK’s camps, ammunition depots and caves, according to Turkish state-owned Anadolu Agency (AA).

The Turkish army intensely bombarded several villages in Akre’s Dinarte on Friday, according to Dinarte mayor Shaaban Barwari. 

The US has called on Turkey to respect Iraqi sovereignty.

In response to an email from Rudaw's Roj Ali Zalla on Friday, a spokesperson for the US State Department said that "we reaffirm our view that military action in Iraq should respect Iraqi sovereignty."