Türkiye destroys 29 PKK terrorist targets in northern Iraq, Syria in air operations

By Alperen Aktas and Diyar Guldogan

ISTANBUL/WASHINGTON (AA) - Türkiye destroyed 29 PKK terror targets in northern Iraq and Syria early Saturday during air operations, according to the Turkish National Defense Ministry.

Air operations were carried out against terror targets in the Metina, Hakurk, Gara and Qandil regions in Iraq and northern Syria, in line with the rights to self-defense arising from Article 51 of the UN Charter, the ministry said in a statement.

The operations came after nine Turkish soldiers were killed in a PKK terror attack in northern Iraq.

The ministry said previously that operations continue in the region.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will chair a security meeting Saturday in Istanbul that will be attended by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, National Defense Minister Yasar Guler, Chief of General Staff Metin Gurak and National Intelligence Organization (MIT) chief Ibrahim Kalin.

Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Lock in April 2022 to target the PKK terror organization's hideouts in Iraq's northern Metina, Zap and Avasin-Basyan regions near the Turkish border.

It was preceded by Operations Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle launched in 2020 to root out terrorists hiding out in northern Iraq and plotting cross-border attacks in Türkiye.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US and the European Union -- has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.