Two Turkish soldiers killed in operation in Iraq

Ankara: Two Turkish soldiers were killed in an operation against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq.

The Turkish Defence Ministry has said one soldier was killed and four others were wounded in a rocket launch attack by the PKK in the ongoing operation, dubbed Claw-Lock on Tuesday. One of the wounded soldiers later died of wounds at a hospital.

The Turkish military offensive in northern Iraq, which started on April 18, targets the PKK’s shelters, bunkers, caves, tunnels, ammunition depots and regional headquarters in Metina, Zap and Avasin-Basyan, Xinhua news agency reported.

Turkey regularly conducts cross-border operations on the PKK bases in northern Iraq. The PKK, listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for over 30 years.

Iraq has protested against the latest Turkish operation in northern Iraq as a violation of its sovereignty, but Turkey defended it as a move aimed at maintaining Turkey’s border security.