Türkiye’s security forces have eliminated a total of 42 terrorists from the PKK and its Syrian wing YPG in operations across northern Iraq and Syria in the past week, Defense Ministry sources said Thursday.
Since Jan. 1, a total of 2,149 terrorists have been targeted, 1,113 in northern Iraq and 1,036 in northern Syria, sources told a weekly press briefing in the capital Ankara.
The PKK took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984 to achieve a so-called Kurdish self-rule in southeastern regions and is designated a terrorist organization by Ankara, as well as the United States and the European Union.
Its armed attacks began in August 1984 in the southeastern Siirt and Hakkari provinces. In its attempts to seize land in the region by spreading fear, the PKK did not hesitate to kill those who opposed the terrorist group.
But increasing operations in recent years have driven the PKK’s domestic presence to near extinction and the terrorist group has moved a large chunk of its operation to northern Iraq, including a stronghold in the Qandil Mountains, which sits roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of the Turkish border in Irbil.
Türkiye has, over the past 25 years, operated several dozen military bases in northern Iraq in its war against the PKK and has been conducting airstrikes as part of "Claw" operations since 2022 to demolish terrorist lairs and prevent the formation of a terror corridor along its borders to both Iraq and Syria.
Turkish operations have intensified in the region since authorities announced the ongoing Operation Claw-Lock, launched in April 2022, would be completed before the winter to sever the ties between Syria and Qandil.
The aim is to wipe out the PKK from the immediate Turkish borders and create an approximately 40-kilometer-deep security corridor along the Iraqi and Syrian borders.
The PKK is not recognized as a terrorist group in Iraq but is banned from launching attacks on Türkiye from Iraqi soil.
The ministry sources said Türkiye's military operations in Syria aim to destroy terrorism at its source along with preventing the migration wave that could be directed toward the country.
Addressing potential migration due to Israeli attacks on Lebanon, ministry sources said: "So far, there is no large group coming to our border," acknowledging that some Lebanese citizens had migrated due to the deteriorating humanitarian situation.
Israeli attacks on Lebanon, which started late last month, have killed more than 2,000 people and displaced 1.2 million others, according to Lebanese authorities.
Regarding reports in German media about approved ammunition sales, the ministry said no official notification had been received.
The official reiterated the stance against restrictions between allies: "Our expectation is that our allies will take decisions in accordance with the spirit of the alliance and the common security perspective."