Turkey continues air strikes on northern Iraq

ANKARA

Turkish security forces “neutralized” two terrorists affiliated with the PKK in northern Iraq, according to the Defense Ministry.

“As part of Operation Claw going on successfully and conducted in [Iraq’s] Hakurk region, two more members of the
separatist PKK terrorist group were neutralized,” said the ministry on Twitter on Oct. 18.

Turkish authorities often use the word “neutralized” in their statements to imply that the terrorists in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.

On May 27, Turkey launched Operation Claw against the PKK in the Hakurk region of northern Iraq, followed by its second and third phases in July and late August.

Over 400 PKK terrorists have been “neutralized” in northern Iraq over the past four months, according to the ministry. The illegal PKK, internationally recognized as a terrorist organization, often uses northern Iraq as a base to plan cross-border attacks in Turkey.