Five Turkish Soldiers Killed in Fighting With PKK in Northern Iraq

Turkish warplanes bombard border village

At least five Turkish soldiers were killed Tuesday and two others wounded in fighting in northern Iraq. The details are still scant, but center around the ongoing offensive against the PKK.

This brings the overall number of Turkish soldiers killed in the latest Iraq offensive to 17. Turkey has claimed “dozens” of PKK were also killed, but exact figures are impossible to verify.

This offensive is just the latest of several Turkish offensives against the PKK in Iraq, which officials say will keep them from threatening the border.

In addition to fighting on the ground, Turkish warplanes reportedly bombarded a village along the Iraq-Turkey border in Duhok. Damage was reported in the strikes, but no casualties.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.