The new phase of operations commenced on Friday at 10:00 p.m. with the goal of destroying the PKK’s bases and headquarters in both Duhok province and Khwakurk.
According to NRT the ministry said in a statement that the campaign would involve special forces, warplanes, and artillery. The initial phase of Operation Claw began in May and saw the Turkish military launch airstrikes against targets across the Kurdistan Region.
On July 7, it killed senior PKK member Diyar Gharib Mohammed in a strike on a target in Qandil. However, Turkish airstrikes have also killed six civilians and wounded at least ten others since the beginning of the operation, drawing the ire of the Iraqi government, which called on Ankara to halt the strikes.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has expressed its “deep concern” about the civilian causalities, but also taken a hard line against the PKK, arguing that its presence in the Region precipitated the strikes.
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