ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Turkish soldier was killed on Wednesday in clashes with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the northern mountains of the Kurdistan Region, the defense ministry announced. The soldier, identified as Vedat Zorba, was “seriously injured as a result of an improvised explosive device [IED] explosion” planted by the PKK. He was transferred to the hospital and “despite all interventions, could not be saved,” the Turkish defense ministry said in a statement. The ministry said the soldier was killed in the Claw-Lock operation region. Turkey’s Claw-Lock Operation was launched in northern Duhok province in April 2022, with the goal of targeting PKK positions in Metina, Zap, Avashin, and Basyan areas. The goal of the operation, according to Ankara, is to remove the PKK from the border area and cut off its access to Turkey. It is the second Turkish soldier to be killed in the Kurdistan Region within a week, according to the defense ministry. The People’s Defense Forces (HPG), the military wing of the PKK, claimed on Wednesday that the Turkish army attacked their position 35 times with “chemical weapons and banned explosives,” according to a statement published by PKK-affiliated media.
