ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Two Turkish soldiers were killed during the ongoing military operation against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Kurdistan Region’s Duhok province, Turkey’s defense ministry announced.
A Turkish soldier was killed in a bombing blamed on the PKK, the ministry said on Sunday.
Another soldier, who was severely injured during clashes with the PKK earlier in April, succumbed to his injuries and was reported dead on Saturday.
The PKK is an armed Kurdish group fighting for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey. Ankara considers it a terrorist organization and a threat to its national security. Turkish forces regularly pursue the PKK within the Kurdistan Region’s borders.
Turkey has launched a series of operations against the PKK in recent years, with the most recent beginning on April 18. Dubbed Claw-Lock, the new operation is aimed at PKK hideouts in Duhok’s Metina, Zap, Avashin, and Basyan areas.
The PKK said that at least 270 Turkish soldiers have been “punished” since the start of the incursion, and around 57 others were injured.
It also acknowledged 11 deaths in its own ranks during the latest operation.
However, Turkey's defense ministry has confirmed the death of 10 of its soldiers, while claiming that it has “neutralized” 57 PKK fighters. Turkey’s army often use the term neutralize to refer to combatants killed or injured on the battlefield.
Both the PKK and Ankara often release exaggerated death tolls of the other side.
The conflict is devastating local populations and the environment, with villagers fleeing their homes.
Iraqi officials have condemned the Turkish breach of Iraqi sovereignty, but Ankara continues its military operation.
Turkey has come under criticism from Baghdad, Erbil, Tehran, and the wider international community for violating Iraqi sovereignty, but Ankara continues to establish increasing numbers of bases and outposts in the mountains of Erbil and Duhok provinces.
