The People’s Defense Forces (HPG), the military arm of the PKK, said in a statement on Wednesday that “a total of 15 of our comrades have been martyred after their heroic resistance, and two other fell under the hands of the enemy.”
Turkey launched a fresh offensive, dubbed Operation Claw-Eagle 2, on Mount Gara on February 10 with the purpose of targeting suspected PKK positions there. The operation ended on Sunday. Turkey claims to have killed 51 PKK fighters and arrested two during the offensive.
The HPG added that one of the deaths was the head of the prison camp, which held the 13 Turkish citizens, mostly members of security forces, who had been taken hostage by the PKK since 2015. The hostages were found dead by Turkish forces during the operation. Ankara blames the PKK for their deaths. However, a PKK spokesperson has claimed that they were killed by Turkish bombardment during the offensive.
One of the 13 dead hostages is Jutyar Muhsin, who is from the Kurdistan Region's Duhok province. He was captured by the PKK on January 29, 2020 for “espionage and passing on the coordinates of the guerrillas’ locations," according to a previous HPG statement.
The PKK is an armed group fighting for greater political and cultural rights for Kurds in Turkey. Its decades-long war with the Turkish state has resulted in more than 40,000 deaths on both sides. Turkey has classified the PKK as a terrorist organization.
Three Turkish soldiers, including two commanders, were killed and three others injured during the clashes, defense minister Hulusi Akar said on Sunday.
The HPG said in the statement that 37 Turkish soldiers went “missing” during the offensive. They group had previously claimed that more than 30 Turkish soldiers were killed and scores injured during the operation.
Updated at 20:45
