12 Turkish soldiers killed in Kurdistan Region in 48 hours: Turkish Defense Ministry
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - The Turkish Defense Ministry on Saturday reported that six more Turkish soldiers were killed on Saturday as part of its ongoing conflict with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Pençe-Kilit Harekâtı bölgesinde 23 Aralık 2023 tarihinde bir üs bölgemize sızmaya çalışan teröristlerle çıkan çatışmada altı kahraman silah arkadaşımız şehit olmuş, bir kahraman silah arkadaşımız da yaralanmıştır.
— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) December 23, 2023
Çatışmada ilk belirlemelere göre 13 terörist etkisiz hale… pic.twitter.com/gl4h1vaK6i
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The Turkish Defense Ministry said the PKK insurgents attempted to infiltrate a Turkish base in “the Claw-Lock Operation region.”
The region refers to the Metina, Zap and Avasin-Basyan regions near the Turkish border, where the Turkish army launched the operation in 2022.
The ministry also claimed 13 PKK insurgents were killed in the firefight.
Read More: Clashes kill six Turkish soldiers killed in Kurdistan Region, announces defense ministry
Earlier on Friday, six Turkish soldiers were killed in the Kurdistan Region in a fight with the PKK militants in Duhok province, the country’s defense ministry said.
The PKK, on the other hand, claimed 36 Turkish soldiers were killed on Friday.
Ankara has launched a number of ground operations against the PKK in the Kurdistan Region’s mountainous areas since 2021.
Tens of thousands have been killed from both sides in an armed conflict since the mid-1980s.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist group by the United States, Turkey, and the EU, among other countries.
Editing by Dastan Muwaffaq