Operation Claw (2019–2020)
| Operation Claw (2019) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict (1978–present) | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Turkey | PKK | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Hulusi Akar Yaşar Güler | Unknown | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
| BÖG | |||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
17 killed 74 killed (per PKK) |
1,067 killed (AA claim) 67 killed (per PKK) | ||||||||
Operation Claw (Turkish: Pençe Harekatı) was a cross-border military operation undertaken by the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region against the Kurdistan Workers' Party.
On the morning of 28 May 2019, Turkish troops fired artillery shells and launched air attacks, followed by border crossings by the Turkish Army and Gendarmerie Special Public Security Command. On 30 May 2019, the first Turkish losses were recorded when a specialist sergeant and a second lieutenant were killed in action.
On 31 May 2019, F-16 jets of the 181st Squadron "Leopard" hit PKK targets in the region. In late June, press sources reported that the Turkish military combat-tested the Bora ballistic missile during Operation Claw in the Kurdistan Region. In July, ground operations gradually died down, and only airstrikes were used in the Avasin-Basyan, Zap, Metina, Haftanin and Hakurk regions. 182nd Squadron "Accipiter", 181st Squadron "Leopard", and 14th UAV Systems Base Command participated in the operation.
On 13 July, Turkey launched the next part of the counter-terror operation (Operation Claw-2) in Northern Iraq. On 24 August, Operation Claw 3 was launched in Northern Iraq. As a result, the Turkish Army set up three new bases deep in the Hakurk region and established a dozen observation points. In June 2020, the Turkish military officially announced the start of Operation Claw-Eagle in Iraq.