Turkey Hits 71 Targets in Iraq and Syria

Facts

• Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler said in a message posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday that at least 59 Kurdish fighters had been 'neutralized' in airstrikes at 71 sites allegedly linked to Kurdish groups in Syria and northern Iraq following the deaths of 12 Turkish soldiers in Northern Iraq.¹
• Six Turkish soldiers were reportedly killed on Friday when militants affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) attempted to infiltrate a Turkish military base in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region. Six more Turkish soldiers were killed the following day in additional clashes with the PKK.²
• Syria's Kurdish administration has reached out to the UN to intervene, saying that some of the air strikes have hit vital infrastructure sites in northeast Syria, including key oil industry sites, health facilities, and more.²
• According to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least eight civilians were killed in Turkish airstrikes in Syria on Monday, and at least twelve civilians were wounded. A Syrian Democratic Forces spokesman said two women were among those killed.²
• The PKK has been engaged in a conflict against the Turkish state since 1984 and is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European , and the US. More than 40K people have reportedly been killed in the decades-long conflict.¹

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera and ²Associated Press.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Daily Sabah. The deaths of the 12 Turkish soldiers are tragic and only serve to further strengthen Ankara's resolve. Turkey is committed to eradicating the terrorist threat within and beyond its borders.
• Narrative B, as provided by ABC News. Civilians are being killed and wounded in this clash between the Turkish military and the PKK. Turkey is intentionally targeting civilian vital infrastructure in Syria, and risks destabilizing the region even further. These airstrikes must stop.