TEHRAN, July 13 (MNA) – An operation conducted since April 2022 will be completed before winter arrives and seize total control of a northern Iraqi region strategically vital for PKK elements, Ankara's defense chief said.Türkiye is planning to clear a strategically key region in northern Iraq of PKK elements before winter arrives, according to Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, Daily Sabah reported.

The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) will seize the northern Iraqi region of Gara and end the PKK presence across the mountains by completing the ongoing Operation Claw-Lock by November, Güler told Turkish newspaper Sabah on the margins of the NATO summit in Washington.

“We have now entered PKK territory that we haven’t been able to reach for the past 30 years,” Güler said.

Gara is strategically important for the terrorist group as a key location between its stronghold in the Qandil Mountains and extensions in Syria, namely the YPG, according to the minister.

Since Turkish operations have driven its domestic presence to near extinction, the PKK has moved a large chunk of its operations to northern Iraq, including a stronghold in the Qandil Mountains, located roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of the Turkish border in Irbil.

Once Operation Claw-Lock, which was launched in April 2022, is completed, the connection between Syria and Qandil will be severed, Güler said.

“We plan to take total control of the area,” he said.

“I must repeat, as we have told our interlocutors many times, Türkiye respects Syria and Iraq’s territorial integrity.

We only aim to fight against terrorism here.” Under the pretext of confronting the PKK elements, Türkiye has been violating Iraq's territorial integrity.

MNA/PR