Turkish Military Launches Airstrikes on Kurdish Sites in Iraq and Syria

The Turkish military conducted a series of airstrikes on Sunday, targeting 24 Kurdish paramilitary sites in northern Iraq and Syria. According to the Defense Ministry’s announcement Sunday on social media platform X, the strikes began at 10 pm local time and were carried out in areas of northern Syria and the Hakurk, Gara, Asos, Qandil, and Metina regions of northern Iraq and “neutralized” many hostile fighters.

The statement highlighted the destruction of various strategic targets, including caves, shelters, bunkers, depots, and natural gas production facilities. The announcement comes in the aftermath of a deadly clash on Friday, in which nine Turkish soldiers were killed in an engagement with the banned separatist paramilitary Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The clash followed earlier strikes on Saturday against 24 targets in the same regions.

After a security meeting on Saturday chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey’s Communications Directorate released a statement claiming to have killed “45 terrorists, 36 in northern Iraq and 9 in northern Syria” throughout the day.

The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union, and has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish government since 1984.

The strikes are part of Turkey’s ongoing cross-border operation named “Claw-Lock” in Iraq, which is a long-term offensive aimed at destroying the PKK’s military capabilities and destroying the group’s leadership. Turkey has also launched interventions in Syria against the People’s Defense Units (YPG), a predominantly Kurdish militia comprising a major part of the Syrian Defense Forces, a crucial ally of the United States in the fight against the Islamic State group. However, the Turkish government considers factions within the YPG to be aligned with the PKK.

Strikes against Kurdish separatist forces have ramped up in recent weeks. Last month, Turkish authorities detailed an incident in which 12 Turkish soldiers were killed in a clash with PKK fighters during the latter’s attempt to infiltrate a Turkish forward operating base in northern Iraq.