Four Turkish soldiers have been killed by PKK terrorists in two separate incidents in Turkey's cross-border operation zone in northern Iraq, the Defense Ministry said Monday.
Three soldiers died and two were injured when an improvised explosive device went off Sunday in an area where Turkish forces have been conducting an operation against PKK terrorists, the ministry said. It added that the injured soldiers are currently under treatment at the hospital. Another soldier was killed and one wounded in a shootout with PKK terrorists near a Turkish military base, it said.
"Due to the contact between members of the separatist terrorist organization and close security elements in our base area on Aug. 15, 2021, in the area of Operation Claw-Lightning, our hero comrade in arms was seriously injured and died, despite all the interventions in the hospital where he was taken," the ministry said in a written statement released Sunday.
"A heroic comrade in arms was also wounded. Our wounded fellow soldier was immediately taken to the hospital and treated," the statement added.
While noting that Turkey is deeply pained and saddened by the incident, the ministry conveyed its condolences to the families of the fallen soldier, as well as the Turkish Armed Forces and the Turkish people.
"We wish a speedy recovery for our wounded personnel," the statement concluded.
The ministry extended its condolences to the families of the soldiers who lost their lives, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), and the nation, and wished a speedy recovery to those injured. The PKK terrorist group often hides out in northern Iraq, just across Turkey's southern border, to plot terrorist attacks in Turkey.
Turkey launched Operations Claw-Lightning and Claw-Thunderbolt on April 23 in northern Iraq’s Metina and Avaşin-Basyan regions near its borders.
Many PKK terrorist hideouts and bases are located in northern Iraq, from where they carry out attacks on Turkey.
The Turkish military regularly conducts cross-border operations in northern Iraq. Turkey has long stressed that it will not tolerate terrorist threats posed against its national security and has called on Iraqi officials to take the necessary steps to eliminate the terrorist group. Ankara previously noted that if the expected steps were not taken, it would not shy from targeting terrorist threats.
