Turkey Acknowledges Losing Three More Soldiers In Northern Iraq Operation

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Three more Turkish soldiers were killed in northern Iraq while taking part in Operation Claw-Lock against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

In separate statements released on November 25, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense said that the soldiers were killed in clashes with PKK fighters. The three slain soldiers were identified by the ministry as Infantry Lieutenant Duabey Onur Ozturkmen, Infantry Private Ismail Unal and Infantry Specialist Sergeant Mustafa Yıldız.

Operation Claw-Lock has been ongoing in northern Iraq since mid-April. The main goal of the large-scale operation is to neutralize the remaining cells of the PKK in the areas of Metina, Zap and Avashin Basyan in the Kurdistan region.

The three new casualties brought to 67 the number of Turkish troops killed in the northern Iraqi region since the beginning of Operation Claw-Lock.

Last week, Turkey escalated its strikes on Kurdish forces in Iraq and neighboring Syria in the framework of a new operation codenamed Claw-Sword. The operation was launched in response to the November 13 Istanbul bombing. Ankara blamed the deadly terrorist attack on the PKK and its Syrian affiliate, the Kurdish People’s Protection Units which the core faction of the Syrian Democratic Forces.

After losing three more soldiers, Turkey will likely further expand its air and ground operations against the PKK in northern Iraq.

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