The military operation in the neighboring country isn’t about grabbing land, President Erdogan assures Turkish artillery in action during the operation in northern Iraq. © Turkey’s Defense Ministry
By sending its troops into Kurdish areas in northern Iraq, Ankara was looking to fight terrorism and secure its own borders, not acquire new territories, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.
The aim of Operation Claw-Lock, which kicked off late on Sunday, was to “rid Iraqi lands of terrorists and guarantee the security of our borders,” Erdogan said during a parliamentary group meeting of the ruling AK Party on Wednesday.
The northern Iraqi regions of Metina, Zap, and Avasin-Basyan, where the operation is unfolding, have been used by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to prepare attacks against Turkey, he said.
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The PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara, has been fighting Turkish forces for decades, striving for greater autonomy for the Kurdish population. (RT)
