File image.
On May 8, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) released footage of a recent attack on a gathering of Turkish soldiers in the Iraqi Kurdistan region.
The Turkish military is currently conducting a military operation against the PKK in the Kurdistan region. The operation, codenamed Operation Claw-Lock, is mainly taking place in the areas of Metina, Zap and Avashin Basyan.
The footage released by the PKK shows an attack with an anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) on a gathering of at least ten Turkish soldiers. The Kurdish guerilla group claimed that eight soldiers were killed and two others were wounded as a result of the attack. The Turkish Ministry of National Defense has not commented on the incident, yet.
The PKK didn’t have access to sophisticated weapons such as ATGMs before the outbreak of the war in Syria more than eleven years ago.
Turkey says that 73 members of the PKK have been killed, wounded or captured since the start of operation Claw-Lock on April 17. At the same time, Ankara claims that only eleven service members have been killed in the operation zone, so far.
PKK fighters in Metina, Zap and Avashin Basyan have been showing fierce resistance. Despite this, Turkey appears to be determined to go on with its operation.
The Turkish operation was condemned by all sides in Iraq including pro-Iranian factions, who may be providing support for the PKK in secret.
