The incident is part of Turkey’s latest military campaign, dubbed Operation Claw-Lock, which was launched on April 18. The operation targets PKK positions in Duhok’s mountainous areas.
The Turkish defense ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that the PKK carried out a rocket attack against its troops in the operation’s conflict area, killing three soldiers and injuring four others.
A total of eight Turkish soldiers have so far been confirmed dead by the ministry since the operation began. The PKK claims that the number of Turkish soldiers is over 250. Both often release exaggerated death tolls of the other side.
Ankara has claimed the death of 56 PKK fighters so far, while the group has only confirmed 11 deaths among its ranks.
The PKK identified three of its fighters who were killed in the initial days of the operation.
Operation Claw-Lock is the fourth stage of Ankara’s Claw operations against the PKK in the Kurdistan Region, with the first stage starting in 2019.
