Hurriyet newspaper reported that the Turkish Armed Forces are planning a large-scale ground military operation in northern Iraq against the militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), banned in the country.
This came according to what journalist Abdul Qadir Selvi, a columnist in the newspaper who is close to Turkish government circles, said, as he continued: “First of all, a large-scale ground operation will be carried out in the area where the (Claw-Lock) operation was carried out, and it has been achieved.” “An agreement was reached with the central administration of Iraq and the administration of Erbil before the operation.”
According to the newspaper, Ankara expects to “close” its entire 378-kilometre border with Iraq in the face of what it calls terrorists.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said earlier that his country plans to “solve the border security issue” with Iraq in the summer. According to him, the Turkish side is also seeking to establish a security corridor 30-40 kilometers deep in Syria.
