ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey launched a new ground and air cross-border operation against suspected Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) bases in Duhok province, the Turkish defense minister announced early on Monday.
Turkish jets and artillery struck PKK targets consisting of “shelters, bunkers, caves, tunnels, ammunition depots and a so-called headquarter belonging to the terrorist organization,” Hulusi Akar said.
Dubbed Claw-Lock, the new operation is aimed at PKK hideouts in Metina, Zap, Avashin and Basyan areas, he added.
The PKK earlier on Monday claimed that “tens" of Turkish helicopters targeted the PKK-entrenched Zap area as Ankara attempts "to land its troops there," reported media affiliated to the armed group Roj News, adding that the helicopters were flying from bases within the Kurdistan Region.
"Until now, our operation continues successfully as planned. The targets set in the first phase have been achieved," Akar noted.
Millî Savunma Bakanı Hulusi Akar ve beraberindeki Komutanları, Hava Kuvvetleri Komutanı Org. Hasan Küçükakyüz karşıladı. Bakan Akar, Irak’ın kuzeyindeki terör hedeflerine yönelik bu gece itibarıyla “PENÇE-KİLİT Operasyonu”nun başlatıldığını duyurdu. https://t.co/jbFOXPYmRr pic.twitter.com/W4b5CSmkUe
— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) April 17, 2022
Turkish warplanes heavily bombarded Kurdish villages in Duhok on Sunday, striking fear among the residents in the area. In a series of videos sent to Rudaw, jets can be heard flying over Shiladze town.
There are no reports of civilian casualties following the latest incursion.
Turkey has conducted numerous cross-border aerial and ground operations against the PKK over the past decade. In February, it launched the Winter Eagle operation against the armed group in Shingal and Makhmour.
The latest offense came two days after Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s visit to Istanbul, where he met with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday.
Turkey has come under criticism from Baghdad, Erbil, Tehran, and the wider international community for violating Iraqi sovereignty, but Ankara continues to establish increasing numbers of bases and outposts in the mountains of Erbil and Duhok provinces.
