The Turkish Ministry of National Defense announced on March 25 that two soldiers were killed in a new attack by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region.
“Two of our heroic fellow soldiers were martyred and two others were injured due to harassment fire in the [northern] Haftanin region of Iraq,” the ministry said in a statement.
In response to the attack, the Turkish military struck positions of the Kurdish group in Haftaninin, in northern Kurdistan. Eight Kurdish fighters were allegedly “neutralized,” which means killed or injured.
The two Turkish casualties were identified as Infantry Specialists Sergeant İsmail Karataş and Corporal Onur Karakaya.
Click to see full-size image. Source: Turkish National Defense Ministry (@tcsavunma) on Twitter.
The PKK is known to be highly active in the areas separating the Kurdistan region from Turkey, especially in Haftanin’s mountains.
Last year, the Turkish military launched a series of operations, dubbed Claw 1, 2 and 3, against PKK cells in the border region. Despite sustaining heavy losses, the PKK managed to maintain a presence in the area.
