Turkey has for over 40 years combated the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which it dubs a terrorist organization, both within...
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Turkey has for over 40 years combated the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which it dubs a terrorist organization, both within and outside of the country.
As a result of the fight between the Turkish government and the PKK, approximately 40,000 have perished, including civilians. Following a 2013 ceasefire deal, there was a 2-year-long peace, which ended when fighting reignited in the Kurdish-populated provinces in southeastern and eastern Turkey.
The most recent one is Operation Claw launched in May 2019. It is specifically aimed against eliminating PKK presence in the Hakurk region in northern Iraq. The Hakurk region is among the main locations PKK members use to infiltrate Turkey or attack Turkish border outposts.
The operation is an attempt at creating a wide and integrated zone that proceeds in the direction of Mount Qandil, which is the headquarters of the PKK, and expanding towards the Iran border with the regions of Avashin-Basyan and Zap.
#OperationClaw launched with the support of attack helicopters pic.twitter.com/dVdoVE0GbG
— ANADOLU AGENCY (ENG) (@anadoluagency) May 29, 2019
The initial phase of Operation Claw covered an area approximately 30 kilometers deep from the Turkish border and 25 kilometers wide parallel to it. Starting from the south of Derecik district of Hakkari province, including Iraq’s Kani Rash region and reaching to the rural surrounding area of Chubkan village of Soran district.
The distance to the southernmost front of operations of the PKK’s headquarters Mount Qandil is approximately 55 km. Asos mountain is also used by the organization, but its further south, about 150 km away.
The tactical aims of the operation are the destruction of the caves and shelters used by the group in the Hakurk region along with the neutralization of PKK fighters in the region. The strategical aim is extending and deepening the region for fighting the PKK in Iraqi territory.
In general, the operation is carried out on a combined use of maneuvering elements from the Special Forces and Commando units, together with UCAVs and UAVs from the land forces, combat helicopters, land combat support vehicles providing constant combat support via high firepower and precise engagement.
In reality, however, most reports of any PKK militants being “neutralized” in the Hakurk region are as a result of airstrikes from fighter jets.
The operation isn’t a separate operation against the PKK for Turkey, and it doesn’t aim to replace efforts within Turkey itself to combat the group. It happens alongside it and both are carried out in unison. Attacks in other regions against PKK are also continuing, just they’re not part of a concerted effort to establish a safe zone, such as the one in Hakurk.
Operation Claw is a sort of direct successor to the successful Operation Determination, that took place in 2018. As per the NewTurkey.org, the goals that may be achieved as a result of a successful Operation Claw are the following:
- The operation that began in 2018 is stabilizing the safe area created along Şemdinli and Derecik and serves as a preventive measure for the PKK’s terror attacks. Alongside this, the offensive threat of the organization is being kept at a distance of 30 kilometers from the border.
- The operation has laid the groundwork for subsequent operations and has a unifying role in other operation areas in northern Iraq.
- It has reduced the chances of PKK’s staying intact by directly threatening the organization’s living spaces.
- It has caused the PKK’s loss of territorial control in Hakurk, which breaks the groups’s “media defense field” perception.
- It prevents a potential power vacuum that may arise in northern Iraq following a possible US-Iran conflict and averts the PKK’s possibility of taking advantage of the instability created by such a situation.
- It creates an opportunity to develop a common approach against the PKK with the federal government of Iraq as well as the Kurdistan Region of Iraq by ensuring Iraq’s territorial integrity.
As of July 14th, 2019, Operation Claw had neutralized 61 PKK fighters and a great deal of equipment, munition and materials belonging to the PKK, including advanced weapons such as the SA-14 portable anti-air missile system, had been captured.
Separately, on July 12th, Operation Claw 2 was launched, which simply expanded its territorial scope into the east towards the Iranian border that leads the operation’s right flank more active. There was no change in strategy, tactics or concepts, but simply an increase in forces was present to attempt and secure a larger area.
The introduction of Operation Claw 2 actually proved the concept that Turkey appears to be following: every subsequent phase will target a new operational area in the form of a chain sequence until the establishment of a vast safe area.
Two weeks after Operation Claw 2 was launched, it was reported that 72 PKK members had been neutralized since the beginning of the activities on May 27th, 2019. It should be noted that different Turkish media report varying numbers, and sometimes even Turkish officials say differing numbers.
After continuous reports of “neutralized” PKK members and success, on August 24th, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense announced that Operation Claw 3 had been launched.
“Operation Claw-3 is being carried out with the aim of securing the border and destroying caves and shelters of terrorists in northern Iraq,” said the ministry in a statement.
The operation is launched to facilitate border security, neutralize PKK members, destroy shelters in Sinat-Haftanin in northern Iraq, the ministry added.
The operation was launched to facilitate border security, eliminate the presence of PKK militants, and destroy their caves and shelters in the region, the ministry stated.
“We will make life unbearable in these mountains for treacherous terrorists and will destroy their caves,” Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu stated.
It should be reminded that, despite Operation Claw 3 launched, the previous two Operations are on-going, they’ve not concluded.
“A total of 654 terrorists were eliminated in the last eight months in various operations conducted in northern Iraq, 64 of which were killed in Operation Claw-1 and 16 in Operation Claw-2,” Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said.
“The operation continues with success as planned. The terrorists have no choice but to surrender and give up. Our soldiers enter the hideouts of terrorists and clear them off one by one. Our struggle will last until the last terrorist has been eliminated,” Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said while announcing the launch of August 24th.
As of August 26th, the Turkish Defense Ministry said that the number of PKK members “neutralized” since Operation Claw 3 began sat at 22. In connection to Operation Claw, since then there have been reports of approximately 20 more being “neutralized,” but the reporting method is quite strange.
The total numbers of “neutralized” PKK members is unclear, according to Turkish media reports and based on the Twitter of the Defense Ministry, total numbers should somewhere in the region of 120. However, totaling the numbers for all reports mentioning Operation Claw leads to a total of upwards of 200.
It does appear that Turkey is gaining ground in the Hakurk region, at least according to its own reports. It wouldn’t be a surprise if in the future parts of Operation Claw, the area creeps closer to the PKK headquarters in Mount Qandil. That is more than likely the end goal, which aims at striking a devastating blow on the group, dubbed a terror organization by Turkey.
The reporting of the “neutralized” elements is noteworthy, since seldom are total numbers of PKK casualties are reported. Generally, the reports are separate depending on whether they are for Operation Claw, Claw 2 or Claw 3. Claw 3 as the most recent ones gets regular updates of the total, such as the above-mentioned example.
The most recent number for Claw 3 stands at 22 eliminated. For Claw 2 there is no information, only reports of captured or destroyed mortar shells and other weapons. For Claw 1 there are almost daily reports of “neutralized” PKK members, but no total is provided.
“Anti-Terror efforts” are clearly of great importance to the current Turkish government and the country’s internal security. It is also highly politicized, and the contradicting and unclear reports of “neutralizations” are proof to that, the fight against the PKK is a part of the mainstream Turkish narrative, in media and in politics. The success of the fight must constantly be publicized and advertised, so that the Turkish population knows that Erdogan’s government is “winning.”
This leads to the unclear reporting form which provides puzzling totals, which do not fit any potential progress, which potentially explains why there isn’t many progress reports. In stark contrast is Egypt’s operation on the Sinai Peninsula that gets regular and unified progress reports that clearly present the information.
These efforts by the Turkish government to show that the fight against “the enemy” is continuous and also successful, but not yet finished is further substantiated by its repeated past claims of advancing east of the Euphrates River in Syria – the advance that has never come, despite the continuous threats.
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