Turkey says its warplanes hit Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq

Turkey’s Defence Minister Hulusi Akar attends a NATO Defence Ministers assembly in Brussels, Belgium, February 17, 2022. REUTERS/Johanna Geron

ANKARA, April 18 (Reuters) – Turkish warplanes, helicopters and drones hit Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq in an air and land operation that focused services starting from camps to ammunition shops, Turkey’s defence ministry stated on Monday.

The army motion was a part of a long-running Turkish marketing campaign in Iraq and Syria in opposition to militants of the Kurdistan Employees Celebration (PKK) and the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, each thought to be terrorist teams by Ankara.

The operation centered on the Iraqi areas of Metina, Zap, and Avasin-Basyan, the ministry stated in a press release. Alongside the air operation, commandos and particular forces additionally participated, each by land and air.

“Our operation is constant efficiently as deliberate,” the state-owned Anadolu information company quoted Defence Minister Hulusi Akar as saying. “The targets recognized within the first part have been captured.”

No info on casualties was given.

The motion, referred to as “Operation Claw Lock”, aimed to “stop terror assaults” and guarantee border safety following an evaluation that the PKK was planning a large-scale assault, the ministry added.

Artillery additionally fired on militant targets within the army motion, it stated.

Turkey often launches air strikes into northern Iraq, a area into which it has repeatedly despatched commandos, to help its offensives.

The PKK took up arms in opposition to the Turkish state in 1984. Greater than 40,000 folks have been killed within the battle, which prior to now was primarily centered in southeast Turkey.

Turkish officers privately say they imagine Baghdad is firmly on their aspect in preventing the PKK, which the European Union and United States have additionally designated a terrorist group.

Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu and Daren Butler; Enhancing by Diane Craft and Clarence Fernandez

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