Turkish air force launches massive strike on terrorists in Iraq

The Turkish Armed Forces have conducted an air operation against terrorist sites in northern Iraq.

“An air operation conducted in the areas of Metina, Gara, Hakurk and Qandil in northern Iraq destroyed 21 targets consisting of caves, shelters, hideouts, warehouses and facilities used by the terrorist organisation PKK,” Caliber.Az reports, citing the X page of the Turkish Ministry of National Defence.

“Many terrorists were neutralised during the air operation,” the statement said.

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Since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019).

Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Lock in April 2022 to target the PKK terror group’s hideouts in the Metina, Zap, and Avasin-Basyan regions of northern Iraq, located near the Turkish border.

The anti-terror operations came after last year’s PKK terror attack that killed 12 Turkish soldiers in northern Iraq. Since then, Turkish airstrikes have destroyed dozens of terror targets in northern Iraq and Syria, near the border, and neutralized several senior terrorists.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.