Turkey “neutralizes” two PKK members in northern Iraq

The Turkish Defense Ministry reported Saturday that its agents have “neutralized” two members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a Kurdish guerrilla.

“Our heroic Turkish Armed Forces are resolutely continuing operations against terrorists in northern Iraq. Two PKK terrorists detected in the region of operation Claw Lightning were neutralized,” the defense portfolio has stated on its Twitter account.

Turkey announced in mid-April the start of a new offensive — dubbed Claw Lighting — against the PKK in Iraqi Kurdistan in northern Iraq, which was described by Baghdad as a “threat to national security,” given that the operations were not being coordinated.

The Turkish Army also recurrently conducts military operations against the PKK and its allies in northern Syria since the ceasefire between the government and the armed group was broken in July 2015.