Operations Claw-Lightning and Thunderbolt
Turkish military incursion
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Claw-Lightning and Claw-Thunderbolt (Turkish: Pençe-Şimşek ve Pençe-Yıldırım Operasyonları) were Turkish Armed Forces cross border military operations in northern Iraq. The operations took place in the Metina, Zap and Avashin-Basyan regions against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) targets, as part of the ongoing Kurdish–Turkish conflict.
(11 months, 3 weeks and 4 days)
| Operations Claw-Lightning and Thunderbolt | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict | |||||
| |||||
| Belligerents | |||||
 Kurdistan Region (from 6 June 2021) |
 Kurdistan Workers' Party | ||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||
|
Nechirvan Barzani |
Sofi Nurettin †[1] | ||||
| Units involved | |||||
|
| |||||
| Strength | |||||
|
Unknown |
Unknown | ||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||
|
6 killed7 wounded 2 captured[4][5] |
142 killed or captured (per Turkey)[6][7] | ||||
Operations
The operations began on the evening of 23 April 2021, with air and howitzer strikes targeting PKK positions in Northern Iraq. In the following hours of the strikes Turkish paratroopers and commandos airdropped from Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters to the points of Metina, Zap and Avashin-Basyan regions. Turkish Defense Ministry announced the "neutralization" of 142 militants and the destruction of 500 targets while announcing 12 killed of their own.[2][6][8]
Clashes between PKK and Peshmerga
Civilian impact
The operation is known to have impact on civilians, fleeing the operation area.[9]
