File image.
On December 9, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense announced that three of its service members were killed in a “terror attack” while taking part in Operations Claw-Lightning and Thunderbolt in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.
The slain service members were identified by the ministry as SMSgt Ali Sari, SMSgt Idris Aksoz and SMSgt Doganay Celik.
— TSK (@TSKGnkur) December 9, 2021
In a statement, the ministry said that Turkish security forces also “neutralized six terrorists” in an air-backed operation, adding that “the operation continues in the region.”
The Turkish military and security forces launched Claw-Lightning and Thunderbolt operations to neutralize the remnants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Metina, Zap and Avashin Basyan regions of Kurdistan more than seven months ago.
Ankara claims that more than 500 fighters of the PKK have been killed, wounded or captured since the beginning of the operations.
The deadly attack on Turkish forces may have been a response to the December 7 Turkish drone strike on the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar which claimed the life of Mervan Bedel, a field commander of the Yezidi Sinjar Resistance Forces (YBS). The YBS has been closely associated with the PKK.
