The People’s Defence Forces (HPG) announced on Thursday that the armed conflict in the Zap region of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has claimed the lives of 32 Turkish soldiers within the past 24 hours, ANF reported.
The statement highlighted that a staggering 31 of these casualties occurred during fierce combat in the Girê Cudî region on Wednesday and Thursday. Following Wednesday’s clashes, during the night between 9 and 10 August, the HPG, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s (PKK) armed wing, claimed that Turkish attack helicopters and warplanes bombed the area continuously.
Contrary to the HPG’s announcement, the Turkish Ministry of National Defence stated that six soldiers were killed due to “harassment fire” during the ongoing military operations against PKK guerrillas in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Turkey’s military actions against Kurdish guerrilla forces in the Zap, Metina (Metîna) and Avashin (Avaşîn) areas in northern Iraq have been ongoing since April 2022.