Turkey might conduct more cross-border operations in Iraq and Syria if needed following the death of nine Turkish soldiers in northern Iraq last week, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing a Turkish defense ministry official.
The nine were killed in clashes with outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants, prompting Ankara to conduct airstrikes and other operations in northern Iraq and northern Syria.
“Under international law and self-defense, Turkey has every right to conduct operations for its border security. The Turkish Armed Forces have done and will do whatever is needed wherever and whenever necessary,” the defense ministry official told reporters.
The clashes took place in the Zap region of northern Iraq, when PKK militants attacked a security point set up by the Turkish Armed Forces at an altitude of 1,740 meters, a Turkish defense ministry official said.
Turkey has since 2019 conducted a series of cross-border operations in northern Iraq against the PKK dubbed “Claw.” The official said Zap was where operation “Claw-Lock” is taking place, aimed at making the Turkish-Iraqi border completely safe.
On January 12, PKK members conducted simultaneous attacks on several Turkish bases in northern Iraq in bad weather and poor visibility, and all but one of the attacks were prevented by Turkish soldiers, the official said.
The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
The conflict was long fought mainly in rural areas of southeastern Turkey but is now more focused on the mountains of northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, where PKK militants are based.
“In our fight with terrorism, Syria and Iraq are inseparable. Syria is the main human resource of the terror organization, there’s a frequent transition between Syria and Iraq,” the official said.
Turkey has also staged military incursions in Syria’s north against the YPG militia, which it regards as a wing of the PKK.
Turkey could conduct new cross-border operations into Iraq and Syria, and it could also expand its operation zones, if it needs to, the official added.