PKK attacks Turkish soldiers in Kurdistan Region, killing six

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkish defence ministry on Thursday announced that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) carried out attacks against its soldiers in the Kurdistan Region in the last two days, killing six members of the Turkish army. 

The ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that the PKK opened fire on Turkish soldiers in Duhok province, killing two and injuring three others who later succumbed to their wounds. One of them was a commander.  

In a separate attack on Thursday, the PKK killed another soldier in the same area, according to the ministry which claimed that it “neutralised” four PKK fighters in a retaliatory attack.   

Turkey uses the term “neutralised” to denote that the person in question is captured, wounded or killed. 

In April last year, Turkey launched Operation Claw-Lock with the goal of targeting PKK positions in Metina, Zap, Avashin, and Basyan areas in northern Duhok province. The operation, according to Ankara, aims to remove the PKK from the bordering areas and cut off its access to mainland Turkey. 

Turkey says both deadly attacks took place in Operation Claw-Lock region. 

PKK on Wednesday claimed it had killed 12 Turkish soldiers in Zap region, which is covered by the operation, but it is not clear if it was referring to the same attacks in which Ankara says killed six soldiers.  

Ankara has in the past few years intensified its campaign to eliminate the presence of PKK fighters around its borders, launching several operations in the Kurdistan Region as well as Syria where it claims to target alleged proxies of the group. 

Turkey has been blamed for several drone attacks in the Region and northeast Syria (Rojava) which claimed the lives of many civilians and Kurdish fighters.