Turkey says it killed 12 Kurdish militants in northern Iraq: report

Turkey’s military has “neutralized” 12 militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, Reuters reported, citing the Turkish Defense Ministry.

Turkey typically uses the term “neutralized” to mean killed.

Claiming it needed to secure its border with its southern neighbor, Turkey rolled out Operation Claw-Lock in April 2022.

It involved Ankara attacking the Kurdish group within Iraq itself, where Turkey also maintains several dozen military bases.

On July 13 President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced the operation’s imminent end, judging Kurdish forces to be “completely trapped” in both Iraq and Syria.

Ankara’s incursions into Iraq have frequently strained bilateral ties with Baghdad.

Erdoğan’s declaration came after the Iraqi government slammed fresh incursions by the Turkish army into Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region.

But there have been signs of a thaw in relations in recent months, with Erdoğan in April making his first visit to Baghdad since 2011.

The PKK, which has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.