ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – Turkey has launched a new ground and air cross-border offensive against Kurdish extremists in northern Iraq, killing at least 19 suspected Kurdish rebels and injuring at least four Turkish soldiers, Turkey’s Defense Minister said on Monday. .
Turkish jets and artillery hit alleged targets of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and commando troops – backed by helicopters and drones – then crossed the region by land or were airlifted by helicopters, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said in a video. , published on the website of the ministry.
Akar said the jets had successfully hit shelters, bunkers, caves, tunnels, ammunition depots and PKK headquarters. The group maintains bases in northern Iraq and has used the territory to attack Turkey.
At least 19 extremists were killed and four Turkish soldiers were wounded during the offensive, the ministry said. There was no immediate comment from the Kurdish militia on the invasion, and the Defense Ministry’s statement could not be independently verified.
In recent decades, Turkey has conducted numerous cross-border air and ground operations against the PKK. The latest offensive, called Operation Claw Lock, was concentrated in the Metina, Zap and Awashin-Basyan areas of northern Iraq.
There was no information on the number of troops and planes involved in the latest invasion.
“Our heroic commandos and chestnut berets – backed by attacking helicopters, drones, armed drones – arrived on the scene by land and air and captured the targets,” Akar said in a second video. “Many terrorists were neutralized.”
“At this point, we have reached, all planned targets have been captured,” he said.
The defense ministry said the new offensive had begun after extremists were found to be regrouping and preparing for a “large-scale attack”.
The offensive was carried out in co-ordination with Turkey’s “friends and allies”, the ministry added, but did not give details. Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Masrur Barzani, prime minister of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, which controls the attacked areas.
The Turkish minister said the invasion was aimed at “terrorists” and that “maximum sensitivity” had been demonstrated to avoid damage to civilian, cultural and religious structures.
Tens of thousands have been killed since the PKK, which has been identified as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, launched a riot in Turkey’s southeastern region with a majority of Kurds in 1984.
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