Turkish soldier killed in PKK clash in Iraqi Kurdistan as Baghdad presses Ankara to withdraw
Recent civilian deaths have reignited calls from Iraqi officials for the withdrawal of thousands of Turkish troops deployed across Iraqi Kurdistan.
A Turkish soldier was killed on Monday in clashes with militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party in Iraqi Kurdistan during an ongoing Turkish offensive against the group.
The Turkish Defense Ministry said 21 Turkish militants had been "neutralized" — in other words, killed — in Turkish airstrikes, as part of a renewed push to defeat the militants who have been fighting the Turkish army, initially for Kurdish independence and now for self-rule, since 1984.
The Turkish soldier was killed in the Gara region bordering Turkey, where Murat Karayilan, head of the PKK’s armed wing known as the People’s Defense Forces (HPG), is thought to be headquartered.
The soldier, who was identified as first lieutenant Omer Fatih Ayar, was a relative of the opposition mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu, who cinched a second successive victory in the March 31 local elections largely thanks to Kurdish votes.
