The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced the killing of 17 militants of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in airstrikes carried out by Turkish warplanes in northern Iraq and Syria. The Turkish Defense Ministry stated in a statement today, Sunday, that the Turkish army units stationed in the areas of /Metina and Kara/ within the areas of /Claw Lock/ northern Iraq detected gatherings of militants of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in rugged mountainous areas, which required the use of warplanes, whose raids on those areas resulted in the killing of 15 of them and the withdrawal of the others. It indicated in its statement that the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) takes Qandil Mountains in northern Iraq as a stronghold, and is active in many cities, regions and valleys, and launches attacks from them on the Turkish interior, and that the Turkish army is working hard to dry up the sources of terrorism. It is noteworthy that the Turkish army had carried out a large-scale military operati on on April 18, 2021, which is still ongoing, called Claw Lock, against the strongholds of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the areas of Metina, Gara, Hakurk, Zap, Afshin and Bazian in northern Iraq. On the other hand, the Turkish Defense Ministry stated in its statement that Turkish fighter jets also carried out a raid on PKK sites in the city of Manbij, northern Syria, which resulted in the killing of two militants from the organization. Source: National Iraqi News Agency