Turkey Launches New Offensive Against Kurdish Militants in Iraq's North, Defence Ministry Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Turkish armed forces have launched Operation Claw-Eagle in northern Iraq against forces of the Kurdistan Workers' Party and the Kurdish People's Protection Units, referred jointly as PKK/YPG and designated as terrorists by Ankara, Turkish media reported on Monday, citing the country's Ministry of Defence.

"The Claw-Eagle Operation has started. Our planes are bringing the caves down on the terrorists' heads", the Turkish Ministry of National Defence tweeted on late Sunday.

Pençe-Kartal Operasyonu başladı.
Uçaklarımız teröristlerin inlerini başlarına yıkıyor.

— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) June 14, 2020

According to TRT Haber, F-16 fighter jets from different provinces took part in the offensive.

The PKK/YPG seek to establish a Kurdish autonomous state, including in parts of Turkey, an aspiration that expectedly has met a strong confrontation in Ankara and prompted anti-PKK raids by the Turkish security forces. The Turkish military also attack Kurdish forces in northern Iraq and it was the fight against the Kurdish terrorists that Ankara said was the reason for its military operation in northern Syria.