ANKARA, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Turkey has launched a cross-border operation against the targets of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq to cut its logistic pathways, experts said.
The Operation Claw, supported by ATAK helicopters, started on Monday night with commandos, backed by artillery and airstrikes, in the mountainous Hakurk area of northern Iraq, the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
The operation aims to demolish the hideouts and shelters that are being used by "terrorist groups and to eliminate terrorists," the ministry noted.
A total of 15 PKK members were killed during the operation, the ministry said in an another statement on Wednesday.
Ministry footage showed shells fired by howitzers and commandos deployed by helicopters and targeting PKK hideouts.
According to local experts, the Operation Claw also aims to cut logistic pathways between northern Iraq and the Turkish border and between northern Iraq and eastern Syria, where the PKK members are seeking to establish a new command center.
The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has been striving to establish an independent Kurdish state by armed rebellion since the 1970s.
The group's headquarters is based in the Qandil mountain region in northern Iraq, which is used by militants to infiltrate into Turkey.
Hakurk, which is part of the Qandil mountain region, is home to one of the most important camps of the PKK, said Naim Baburoglu, a retired general and academician from Aydin University.
The Operation Claw is launched 35-40 km deep into Iraq, the expert noted.
The People's Protection Unit (YPG) in Syria, which Ankara sees as the Syrian branch of the PKK, provides human resources for the PKK in Iraq, Baburoglu said.
The operation also aims to cut logistical lines between the PKK camps in Iraq and YPG forces in Syria, he noted.
Since the beginning of this year, Turkey has intensified its airstrikes and land operations to fight PKK militants in northern Syria and Iraq.
The Turkish military has conducted two military operations in northwestern Syria since 2016 in order to clear the area of the Islamic State fighters and the YPG.
Turkey's operation was launched in a bid to extend Turkish military presence in northern Iraq, where its army has already established 11 military bases, said Abdullah Agar, a security expert and former special forces officer.
