Five Turkish soldiers were killed and eight injured in an attack on a Turkish military base in Northern Iraq, according to a statement on Friday evening from the Turkish Defence Ministry.
The casualties occurred during a clash with “terrorists” after they attempted to infiltrate the Turkish military base area, the ministry said.
The base is located near Metina, a mountainous area close to the Turkish border in Iraqi Kurdistan. It was attacked by members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), classified as a terrorist group by Ankara and its Western allies, Turkish private broadcaster NTV reported. In retaliation, the authorities announced an ongoing military operation in the region.
Late in December, twelve Turkish soldiers were killed in two separate assaults on Turkish military bases in Northern Iraq. Regular ground and air operations against PKK fighters and their locations in Northern Iraq, the autonomous Kurdistan, or the mountainous region of Sinjar, are launched by the Turkish military.
Turkey has established dozens of military bases in Iraqi Kurdistan over the past 25 years to fight against the group, which also operates out of rear bases in the region.
The PKK, involved in armed struggle with Turkish authorities since 1984, claimed an attack in October on the Turkish Interior Ministry headquarters in Ankara in which two policemen were wounded.
