The Turkish military is planning to advance 50-60 kilometers (31-37 miles) into northern Iraq to clear the area of PKK terrorists as part of its newly launched Operation Claw-Lock, which aims to destroy the terrorist group at its source.
The military, which aims to completely destroy the terrorist group’s headquarters in Mount Qandil in northern Iraq, is expected to close all passageways to Qandil to cut off terrorists’ access.
According to the analysis made ahead of the operation, there are around 3,000 PKK terrorists in the area. The Turkish military also determined the locations of the camps, caves and shelters used by the terrorists.
The Qandil area has frequently been hit by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in the last decades, yet a ground operation had not been launched in recent years.
Qandil became the PKK's main headquarters in the 1990s after it used the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon as training grounds for many years.
The first extensive operation against the PKK was carried out in May 1983, when 5,000 Turkish soldiers crossed the Iraq border and advanced 5 kilometers. After a land operation on the Qandil mountains to destroy PKK hideouts, they retreated.
In the mid-1990s, the operations intensified due to increased PKK attacks and infiltration attempts near border towns that cost hundreds of Turkish soldiers' lives.
In May 1995, the Turkish army launched Operation Steel with the participation of 35,000 personnel. The operation was followed by Operation Claw, which was launched on May 27, 2019, to entirely eliminate the presence of the terrorist organization in northern Iraq.
Before launching Operation Claw-Lock, Turkish officials informed Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials about the plans. On April 15, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and talked about the planned operation. Sources note that KRG units are currently cooperating with the Turkish military, blocking PKK terrorists trying to flee to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) area.
The ongoing operation was based on four goals, including the destruction of camps hosting PKK terrorists near Turkey’s borders, taking full control over border entries into Turkey and preventing terrorist infiltration, cutting off the terrorists’ connections with the local people and destroying Qandil by closing all passageways to the terrorist headquarters.
Sources note that the Turkish soldiers will not retreat until all of these goals are fulfilled. In this regard, they are expected to establish temporary control centers in northern Iraq near the Turkish border.
On Monday, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said the Turkish military has cleared most of the area where the PKK terrorists have a presence in northern Iraq.
Some 56 PKK terrorists have been eliminated in the operation so far, and most of the caves have been destroyed, Akar said, adding that the operation continues successfully as planned.
Akar also said Claw-Lock will completely “lock” Turkey’s border.
“It will make it impossible for terrorists to infiltrate our borders,” Akar said, noting that the first phase of the operation has been successfully completed.
The operation targets the terrorists in the Metina, Zap and Avashin-Basyan regions in northern Iraq.
The new operation comes on the heels of Operations Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle launched by the Turkish army in northern Iraq in 2020. Operations Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle began in border regions of northern Iraq in 2020 to ensure the safety of the Turkish people and frontiers.
The PKK terrorist group often hides out in northern Iraq, just across Turkey's southern border, to plot terrorist attacks in Turkey. The Turkish military regularly conducts cross-border operations in northern Iraq.
Turkey has long been stressing 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 away from targeting terrorist threats.
