Turkish forces seize 33-room cave with PKK weapons in northern Iraq PHOTO / VIDEO

The Turkish Armed Forces, conducting cross-border search operations, have uncovered an extensive cave complex used by the PKK terrorist organisation.

The cave, located in the area of the Pençe-Kilit operation in northern Iraq, stretches 1,800 meters and consists of 33 separate chambers. It served as a major base for the separatist terrorist group,  Caliber.Az reports, citing the Turkish Ministry of National Defence’s official statement on the social media platform X.

🗓️ 5-7 Temmuz 2025

Kahraman Türk Silahlı Kuvvetlerimiz, Irak’ın kuzeyindeki Pençe-Kilit Operasyonu bölgesinde gerçekleştirdiği arama tarama faaliyetinde bölücü terör örgütü PKK’nın kullandığı 1.800 metre uzunluğunda, 33 odalı bir mağara tespit etti.

Kullanılamaz hâle getirilen… pic.twitter.com/zOn8Fcv8A2

— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) July 14, 2025

According to the ministry’s report, a large cache of weapons, ammunition, and essential supplies seized from the cave were rendered unusable and destroyed on site. Among the arsenal found were dozens of assault rifles including AK-47s and M16A4s, a recoilless rifle, heavy machine guns of the Doçka type, sniper rifles with multiple suppressors, anti-tank weapons such as M79s, Konkurs missiles, and AT-4 launchers, as well as surface-to-air missiles like the SA-7. Mortars of various calibers including 82mm, 60mm, and 107mm Katyusha-type rockets were also discovered with accompanying ammunition.

🗓️5-7 Temmuz 2025

🇹🇷 Kahraman Türk Silahlı Kuvvetlerimiz, Irak’ın kuzeyindeki arama tarama faaliyetlerine aralıksız devam ediyor.

Pençe-Kilit Operasyonu bölgesinde tespit edilen mağarada; silah, mühimmat ve yaşam malzemesi ele geçirildi.

Ele geçirilenler şu şekilde:

▪️ 53… pic.twitter.com/GYbUn9veqy

— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) July 14, 2025

The cache further included multiple grenade launchers and rounds, sniper rifles such as the M1 and Dragunov, hunting rifles, submachine guns like the UZI, machine guns with spare barrels, hundreds of magazines, hundreds of anti-personnel and anti-tank rockets, thousands of rounds for heavy machine guns, and a large number of offensive and defensive grenades. Additionally, 100 kilograms of homemade explosives were seized.

The Turkish forces also confiscated various electronic equipment including battery packs, telescopes, optical scopes, thermal and night vision devices, laser rangefinders, GPS units, and numerous radio communication devices. Drone technology was also found, including DJI Mavic 3T and Phantom 4 models, along with camera equipment and other supplies.

By Khagan Isayev