'Claw' operations: Soldier succumbs to injuries, bringing two-day death toll to seven

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A soldier who was injured on July 21 during the cross-border military operation in Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) succumbed to his injuries late yesterday, the National Defense Ministry has announced.

The death of Infantry Specialist Sergeant Ege Süleyman Görece brought the number of soldiers killed in two days to seven. Previously, six soldiers were killed during clashes between the army and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the ministry announced yesterday. Several soldiers were wounded.

Görece had been receiving treatment at the Gülhane Training and Research Hospital in İstanbul. His funeral will take place in the Saruhanlı district of Manisa.

The 'Operation Claw-Lock' has been ongoing in the mountainous regions of Zap, Avashin, and Metina as part of the larger 'Claw Operations' that began in May 2019. These operations have shifted the armed conflict between Turkey and the PKK from Turkish soil to Iraq, marking a new phase in the four-decade-long conflict. (NT/VK)