The Ministry of National Defense (MSB) announced that nine soldiers were martyred and four soldiers were injured in the conflict with terrorists in the Operation Claw-Lock region. The Ministry made a statement: “Our injured people were transferred to the hospital and their treatment started. According to the initial findings of the contact, 15 terrorists were neutralized.” Operations continue in the region.
The Turkish ministry did not specify where the base was located, but PKK media reported hours earlier that the group targeted Turkish military bases located on Mount Zap in Duhok province’s Amedi district.
“At 5:05 pm Bashur (Kurdistan Region) time, an extended operation was launched in Amedi hill,” PKK-affiliated journalist Kawa Tolhildan said in a video shared by Sterk TV.
Claiming to be reporting from the conflict zone, Tolhildan said “great results” had been achieved “according to initial reports.”
Sterk TV also reported that the PKK seized numerous weapons from the base and shared a video purportedly showing the moment the attack was launched.
In the same area on Friday, a Turkish drone hit two PKK vehicles that were carrying weapons and injured two fighters, according to the Erbil-based Directorate General of Counter Terrorism (CTD).
Villagers in the Amedi area told Rudaw that they could hear the sounds of fighting from their homes.
Sirwan Sargali, from Sargale village, said the clashes were only two kilometres away and the sounds of warfare sparked fear in the village.
This is the second deadly clash this week. Another Turkish soldier was killed by the PKK in the Kurdistan Region, the defense ministry said on Thursday.
After the PKK killed 12 soldiers in the Kurdistan Region last December, Turkey responded by pounding critical infrastructure in northeast Syria (Rojava) where Ankara alleges PKK offshoots are in control.
Rudaw, Hurriyet, Voice of America
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