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Dozens of Turkish warplanes, armed drones and arsenals, and communications planes originated from bases scattered across the country and participated in night raids.
Ani observation of the nature of the yuvalar yerle bir edildiği # PençeKartalOperasyonuDan Ndan ilk görüntüler. 🇹🇷 #MSB #TSK pic.twitter.com/U0yp0kgx6H
– T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) June 15, 2020
Their target was to hide 81 militants from the Kurdistan Labor Party or the PKK, the country’s defense ministry said on Monday. According to the ministry, the raid was a response to Kurdish attacks on the army.
Turkey uses such a variety of military aircraft only in exceptional cases, demonstrating the country’s readiness to operate outside the country.
The airstrikes were carried out just two days after the end of the air and naval exercises in the Mediterranean.
Turkey, led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is increasingly demonstrating military power in the region to better protect its interests.
The country’s actions have complicated relations with Russia and Iran, which support the other sides of the Syrian civil war, as well as Cyprus and Greece, over natural resources in the Mediterranean.
Turkey’s active participation in Libya has exacerbated relations with Russia in recent months, with both sides supporting opposition forces. It is for this reason that influential Russian officials canceled their planned visit to Turkey at the last minute.
A meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu was scheduled for Monday in Istanbul to mark a non-public cooperation agreement.
Turkey has long called on Tehran to join joint operations against PKK elements in Iran. Turkey has increased pressure on Kurdish militant forces after Kurdish forces linked to Kurds gained US support in Syria, where they contributed to the fight against the Islamic State.
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