Ankara Launches Operation Against Kurds On Border With Iraq - Reports

The Turkish Interior Ministry has announced the launch of the Eren Abluka-2 anti-terrorist operation against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the southeastern province of Hakkari on the border with Iraq, media reported on Tuesday

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th April, 2022) The Turkish Interior Ministry has announced the launch of the Eren Abluka-2 anti-terrorist operation against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the southeastern province of Hakkari on the border with Iraq, media reported on Tuesday.

Ankara has dispatched 42 task forces, consisting of 654 soldiers, to canvass Hakkari in order to identify and neutralize PKK militants, according to the Turkish news agency Anadolu. The anti-terrorist operation aims to completely eliminate the terrorist threat in Turkey, the agency said.

On Monday, Ankara launched another operation against PKK militants in the northern part of Iraq, using special forces and military aviation.

According to the Turkish Defense Ministry, four soldiers were injured during the operation.

The Turkish government has been fighting the PKK, which wants to establish a Kurdish autonomy in Turkey, since the early 1980s. The PKK and Turkey signed a ceasefire agreement in 2013, but it collapsed just two years later over several terrorist attacks which Ankara blamed on the Kurds.

The Turkish armed forces have been seeking to destroy PKK military bases located in the northern part of Iraq. According to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, around 6,000 PKK members have been killed in Turkey and 6,900 outside the country since July 2015. During the same period, Turkey lost over 1,200 soldiers.