Ankara (IP)- Turkey's Defense Ministry announced early Monday that it has launched Operation Claw-Eagle against terrorist hideouts in northern Iraq.

Iran PressMiddle East: Turkey says the Operation Claw-Eagle is taking place under the right of self-defense arising from international law; noting that the operation has been launched in order to ensure the security of the Turkish people and the country’s borders by neutralizing the PKK and other terrorist organizations that have been stepping up harassment and attack attempts against the police and military bases.

Turkish Defence ministry said on its Twitter account that its fighter jets have destroyed caves where the terrorists were taking shelter and the caves had collapsed on them.

"The PKK and other terrorist elements are threatening the security of our people and borders with attacks increasing every day on the areas of our outposts and bases," it said.

The operation is being carried out against terrorist bases in northern Iraq in Sinjar, Qandil, Karacak, Zap, Avasin-Basyan, and Hakurk. 

Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and the Turkish Armed Forces Command are managing and dispatching operation Claw-Eagle from the Air Force Command Control Center.

In its more than 30-year conflict, mainly focused in southeast Turkey, between the Turkish central government and PKK group nearly 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants died. The Kurdish group is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the European Union

While Turkish warplanes frequently target PKK/YPG targets in northern Iraq, Turkey has also warned in recent years of a potential ground offensive targeting the PKK/YPG bases in the Qandil mountains. 212/ 104

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