Turkey on Monday launched a new air and ground offensive dubbed “Operation Claw-Lock” against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq’s Metina, Zap and Avashin-Basyan regions, state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

Both Baghdad and the leaders of the autonomous Kurdistan region based in Erbil support Turkey's ground and air assault, AFP cited Erdogan as saying during an address to his lawmakers in parliament.

"I thank the central government in Iraq and the regional administration for their support to our fight against terror," Erdogan said.

"I wish success for our heroic soldiers involved in this operation, which we are carrying out in close cooperation with the central Iraqi government and the regional administration in northern Iraq," he added.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry has responded to Erdogan's remarks, saying they were "not true," AFP reported on Thursday, adding that the ministry for Iraqi Peshmerga fighters in the country's autonomous Kurdish region also denied any cooperation or participation in the Turkish offensive.

Turkey on Thursday summoned Iraq's charge d'affaires to defend its decision to launch a military campaign against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, Duvar news site reported.

The Foreign Ministry expressed to the envoy its displeasure with the "unfounded allegations" made in the wake of Erdogan's statement in Iraq, it said.

The PKK is an armed group that has fought for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey for almost four decades. The group has several bases in the region, including its main headquarters in the Qandil mountains. It is recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.

Turkey routinely carries out attacks in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. The latest operation arrives on the heels of the Operations Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle launched by Turkey in northern Iraq in 2020.

The offensives have strained Turkey’s ties with Iraq’s central government in Baghdad, which accuses Ankara of failing to respect the country’s territorial integrity.

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