Error occured during this request! Please try again later.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — More than a thousand “terrorists” have been “neutralized” as a result of operations in northern Iraq since the beginning of the year, the Turkish defense ministry announced on Monday.
“Since the beginning of this year, 1,581 terrorists were neutralized as a result of our operations in northern Iraq. Our determination in this matter continues,” Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said in a statement.
A total of 18,292 have been “neutralized,” meaning captured or killed, since July 24, 2015, he said, adding that “Turkey’s fight against terrorists will continue.”
The majority of operations Turkey has conducted are in the Kurdistan Region, but Ankara has also launched airstrikes in disputed territories.
Turkish officials use the term “northern Iraq” when referring also to the Kurdistan Region.
Turkey has launched a series of operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in recent years, with the most recent beginning in April. Duhok’s Metina area, on the Turkish border, is the focus of Operation Claw-Thunderbolt, and Operation Claw-Lightning targets the Avashin and Basyan areas further east.
The PKK said on Saturday they have carried out 398 attacks against the Turkish army in the Kurdistan Region since the two operations began in April. The group said it “punished” 494 Turkish soldiers and injured 63 others. It also targeted tens of Turkish armored vehicles and bases.
The PKK acknowledged 63 deaths in its own ranks during Turkey’s latest operations.
Several civilians have been injured since then, with others killed in offensives last year.Turkey says it is targeting PKK positions, which has its headquarters in the Kurdistan Region’s Qandil Mountains and is viewed as a terror group by Ankara.
Akar also discussed Makhmour and Shingal, both of which Turkey has targeted before, saying they may be attacked again in the future.
Three people were killed when Turkey bombed Makhmour refugee camp in Erbil province in June.
“We are talking about Makhmour and Sinjar with both Baghdad and Erbil,” Akar added noting that “none of these places are beyond our target.”
The PKK is an armed Kurdish group that has fought the Turkish state for decades, seeking increased rights for the country’s Kurdish minority.
Hundreds of villages have been emptied due to Turkey-PKK clashes in the Kurdistan Region.
Last year, the Turkish presidency released a map saying it has established 37 “military points" across the Region.
Updated at 5:08 pm
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment