Turkey's Defense Minister: +500 "terrorists" were "neutralized" in northern Iraq in 2022

Shafaq News/ Turkey's military has "neutralized" more than 500 "terrorists" during the operation Claw-Lock in northern Iraq in 2022, Turkey's Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said in a press conference on Saturday.

Turkish authorities use the term "neutralize" to imply that "the terrorist in question surrendered, was killed, or captured."

Akar said the military forces hindered 256,199 persons from illegally entering Turkish territory.

They also handed 8,000 illegal migrants and 820 terrorists to law enforcement authorities.

Operation Claw-Lock is an ongoing military operation of the Turkish Armed Forces in northern Iraq. The operation is taking place in the Duhok Governorate against the Kurdistan Workers' Party, as part of the ongoing Kurdish–Turkish conflict.

The Turkish Armed Forces have been conducting cross-border military operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Northern Iraq since the 1980s. Since 2019, Turkey has begun conducting operations codenamed Claw, including Claw Eagle and Tiger in 2020 and Claw-Lighting and Thunderbolt in 2021.

According to Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, the current operation targets positions in the areas Metina, Zap, and Avashin and is carried out in cooperation with their allies.