Operation Claw (2019–2020)
Turkish military operation / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Operation Claw (Turkish: Pençe Harekatı) was a cross-border military operation by the Turkish Armed Forces into Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region against the Kurdistan Workers' Party.[6]
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Operation Claw (2019) | |||||||||
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Part of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict (1978–present) | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Turkey | Kurdistan Workers' Party | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Hulusi Akar Yaşar Güler | Unknown | ||||||||
Units involved | |||||||||
BÖG | |||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
17 killed [1] 74 killed (per PKK)[2] |
1.067 killed (AA claim)[3] 67killed (per pkk) www.aa.com.tr/tr/info/infografik/28032 |access-date |
On the morning of 28 May 2019, Turkish troops fired artillery shells and launched air attacks, followed by border crossings by the Turkish Army and Gendarmerie Special Public Security Command.[7] On 30 May 2019, the first Turkish losses were recorded: a specialist sergeant and a second lieutenant were killed in action.[8]
On 31 May 2019, F-16 jets of the 181st Squadron "Leopard" hit PKK targets in the autonomous region.[9] In late June, press sources reported that the Turkish military combat-tested the Bora ballistic missile during Operation Claw in the Kurdistan Region.[10] In July, ground operations gradually died down, and only airstrikes were used in the Avasin-Basyan, Zap, Metina, Haftanin and Hakurk regions. 182nd Squadron "Accipiter", 181st Squadron "Leopard", and 14th UAV Systems Base Command participated in the operation.[11]
On 13 July, Turkey launched the next part of the counter-terror operation (Operation Claw-2) in Northern Iraq.[12] On 24 August, Operation Claw 3 was launched in Northern Iraq.[13] As a result, the Turkish Army set up three new bases deep in the Hakurk region and established a dozen observation points. In June 2020, the Turkish military officially announced the start of Operation Claw-Eagle in Iraq.[14]