PKK kills 9 Turkish soldiers in Iraq, inner security cabinet meets

The Turkish Ministry of National Defense (MSB) confirmed on January 12 that nine Turkish soldiers were killed while four others sustained injuries during a clash with PKK militants in the Pençe-Kilit Operation (Operation Claw-Lock) area in Northern Iraq.

The injured soldiers were swiftly transported to a medical facility, where they are currently undergoing treatment, according to the official statement from the ministry.

MSB detailed that the confrontation unfolded as terrorists attempted to infiltrate one of the Turkish base areas during the ongoing Pençe-Kilit Operation in Northern Iraq.

“On January 12, 2024, nine of our heroic comrades were martyred and four others were wounded, three of them severely, in a clash with terrorists who tried to infiltrate a base area in Operation Claw-Kilit region. Our wounded were transferred to hospital and their treatment has started. According to the first determinations, 15 terrorists were neutralized in the clash. Operations continue in the region,” stated the MSB, in the last update in the early hours of January 13.

The Pençe-Kilit Operations, initiated in April 2022, are an ongoing military effort covering the Metina region and the Zap and Avaşin Basyan areas in Northern Iraq, where the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has been using as a base for its attacks on Türkiye. With the aim of carving out a Kurdish state out of the territories of Türkiye, Iran, Iraq and Syria the PKK has its headquarters in Qandil Mountains near Iran border of Iraq since 1984; its armed campaign has claimed tens and thousands of lives so far.

President calls for urgent security meeting after PKK attack

Following the news, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan swiftly convened a high-level security meeting in Istanbul, scheduled for January 13.

Attending the meeting will be Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, Chief of General Staff Metin Gürak, and National Intelligence Organization Chief İbrahim Kalın.

Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun announced the decision on social media, stating, “Under the directive of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a security meeting is slated for Saturday, January 13, at 14:30 at the Dolmabahçe Working Office in Istanbul.”

In response to the news, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) announced that they will be cancelling local-elections-related programs scheduled for this weekend.

Previous losses and ongoing operations

The MSB had reported a day before the recent attack of a killing of a soldier again in Pençe-Kilit operation area.

President Erdoğan, during his speech celebrating the 97th anniversary of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) on the same day, issued strong statements regarding the PKK. “They won’t be able to leave their hideouts,” he declared, emphasizing a resolute stance against terrorism.

The MSB had previously announced in December 2022 that 12 soldiers were killed as a result of a PKK attack on a Turkish Armed Forces base in the Khakurk region of Iraq. Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler had stated that, in the operations initiated immediately after the attack, 30 PKK members were killed, and 29 targets were destroyed. Güler and the TSK Command team had traveled to Şırnak, near the joint border area with Iraq and Syria, to oversee the ongoing anti-terrorism operation on Iraqi territory on the morning of December 24.