Turkish forces are seen at Mount Barsaya in northeast of Afrin, January 28, 2018 / Khalil Ashawi / Reuters
On April 22, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense announced that three soldiers were killed while taking part in Operation Claw-Lock in northern Iraq.
Turkey launched the operation on April 17 to neutralize the remnants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the areas of Metina, Zap and Avashin Basyan in the Kurdistan Region.
In a statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that the three soldiers were killed as a result of a “terror attack” without elaborating. The ministry also claimed that six members of the PKK were “neutralized” in an air-supported raid within the Operation Claw-Lock zone.
Iraqi sources reported a rocket attack on the Turkish military’s Siri base to the north of Duhok city in the Kurdistan Region. The sources said that Turkish military vehicles were hit. However, they didn’t report any casualties.
Turkey claims that at least 45 members of the PKK have been killed, wounded or captured since the beginning of Operation Claw-Lock.
While Ankara has so far acknowledged the death of three soldiers only, the PKK alleges that up to seven Turkish service members were killed while taking part in the operation.
The Turkish oepration led to tensions with Iraq. The Iraqi President Barham Salih condemned the attack and demanded Turkey to end the operation deeming it a “threat to our national security”.
Iraq’s Foreign Minister, Fuad Hussein, alleged the operation was a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty, while Muqtada al-Sadr, the leader of the largest faction in parliament demanded that if Turkey has security concerns, it should discuss them with the Iraqi Government and considered its military strong enough to take care of the issue.
Erdogan claimed to have the agreement of both the Kurdistan Region Government and Iraq during a speech in the Turkish Parliament on April 20. This was denied by Iraqi officials. On April 22, the Iraqi envoy to Turkey was summoned to convey Turkeys displeasure with “unfounded allegations” after Erdogan’s speech in the parliament.
Operation Claw-Lock is the most recent in a series of offensives Turkey has carried out since 2019 against what it calls “terrorist organizations” in northern Iraq, particularly the PKK.
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