WASHINGTON

Türkiye on Tuesday carried out air operations on targets in the Gara and Qandil regions of northern Iraq to eliminate PKK terrorists, according to the country's National Defense Ministry.

The operation was carried out to "neutralize" PKK and other terrorist elements, to eliminate the terrorist attacks against the people and security forces from northern Iraq, to ​​ensure border security, the ministry said in a statement.

"In line with our rights to self-defense arising from Article 51 of the UN Charter, air operations were carried out against terrorist targets in the Gara and Qandil regions in the north of Iraq on Nov. 7 at 18.00 local time (1500GMT)," it added.

A total of 12 targets, including caves, bunkers, shelters, and warehouses used by terrorists, were destroyed.

Many terrorists were also "neutralized" during the operations, the ministry said.

Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Lock in April 2022 to target the PKK terror group's hideouts in the Metina, Zap, and Avasin-Basyan regions of northern Iraq, located near the Turkish border.

It was preceded by two operations — Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle — launched in 2020 to root out terrorists hiding in northern Iraq and plotting cross-border attacks in Türkiye.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and EU — has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the terrorist PKK's Syrian branch.