5 Turkish soldiers killed by PKK in Kurdistan Region: Defense Ministry

Tens of thousands have been killed in the Turkish-PKK conflict, which began in 1984. 
Portrait of dead Turkish soldier Omer Dilbash held by a Turkish soldier during his funeral procession in Hakkari province, April 19, 2022. (Photo: Hikmet Temesh/Anadolu Agency)
Portrait of dead Turkish soldier Omer Dilbash held by a Turkish soldier during his funeral procession in Hakkari province, April 19, 2022. (Photo: Hikmet Temesh/Anadolu Agency)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – At least five Turkish soldiers have been killed in the Kurdistan Region while fighting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the country’s defense ministry announced on Tuesday. 

Three of the soldiers were instantly killed by the Kurdish militants, while the other two were wounded and later died after being hospitalized. 

The latest Turkish cross-border air and ground operation against the PKK in the Kurdistan Region, codenamed Claw-Lock, was launched in late April against suspected PKK positions in the mountainous areas of Duhok province, namely Metina, Zap, and Avashin-Basyan.

Seven people were also killed in two drone strikes blamed on Turkey in Chamchamal and Makhmour over the weekend. Turkey’s intelligence agency announced that it killed a top PKK commander in one of the strikes. 

Tens of thousands have been killed in the Turkish-PKK conflict, which began in 1984. 

In recent years, the main battlefield between the two adversaries has been the Kurdistan Region. Fighting in the autonomous region has affected civilians and farmers and depopulated hundreds of villages. 

Officials in the Kurdistan Region have repeatedly called on the warring sides to take their conflict elsewhere for the sake of the region’s civilians.