Four Turkish soldiers killed in Claw-Lock op zone

Selçuk Böke - ANKARA

A total of four Turkish soldiers have been killed in the Operation Claw-Lock zone in northern Iraq, three with the harassment fire of the terrorist organization PKK and one with a lightning strike, while two others have been injured.

As a result of the harassment fire in Iraq’s north, two soldiers lost their lives and three others were injured. One of the soldiers who was taken to the hospital later died.

The Turkish military launched a massive air operation into the PKK and YPG targets in northern Iraq and Syria on Nov. 20 in reaction to a terror attack in downtown Istanbul on Nov. 13 that killed six civilians. Turkish authorities blamed the attack on the illegal PKK group and its Syrian affiliate, the YPG.

On Nov. 26, another soldier injured as a result of a lightning strike also lost his life, the Defense Ministry announced.

Meanwhile, a village guard was also killed by lightning on Mount Judi in the southeastern province of Şırnak.

Separately, three other village guards were injured by another lightning strike in the neighboring province of Hakkari’s Şemdinli district.

Defense Minister Hulusi Akar went to the Land Forces Operations Center in the capital Ankara and held a meeting that lasted for long hours with the Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaşar Güler, and the Turkish army’s command echelon, receiving a briefing regarding the latest developments in the operation.