Turkish soldier succumbs to injuries in northern Iraq

ANKARA- Anadolu Agency

A Turkish soldier succumbed to his wounds on Sept. 28 from a terrorist attack in northern Iraq, Turkey's National Defense Ministry announced on Sept. 28. 

The soldier was seriously wounded when ammunition exploded as part of a booby trap laid by terrorists in an area under Turkey's anti-terror Operation Claw, the ministry said in a statement.

Despite doctors' best efforts, he lost his life in the hospital, it added.

The terrorists' affiliation was not mentioned, but the PKK terror group is known to be active in the region.

Turkey's operations Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle were launched in June to ensure the safety of Turkish people and borders by neutralizing the threat of the PKK and other terrorist groups that often use northern Iraq to plan cross-border attacks.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK - listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU - has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is the PKK's Syrian offshoot.

2 PKK terrorists surrender to Turkish security forces

Turkey convinced two more PKK terrorists to surrender to security forces, the Interior Ministry said on Sept. 29. 

The terrorists laid down their arms in Mardin province as a result of persuasion efforts by the Istanbul and Mardin Provincial Gendarmerie Commands to prevent terror activities of the PKK/KCK-PYD/YPG terrorist organization, it said
in a statement.

According to the statement, one of the terrorists joined the terror group in 2015 and was last active in Syria.

With the latest additions, the number of terrorists who have given up fighting through persuasion in 2020 has risen to 170.