Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar announced that the first phase of the operation against members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq has been completed.
"The first phase is completed. Our military has reached the places they were supposed to arrive and the territory they will control. We must stress that the targets captured are the first phase of this stage," he said in an interview with the Hurriyet newspaper published Monday night.
On the night of April 18, the Turkish Armed Forces launched a new military operation against members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party in northern Iraq, involving the country's air force and special forces units. Turkish National Defense Minister Akar said that the goals set at the first phase of the operation had been achieved. He added that the only goal of the Turkish military was elimination of terrorists. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry called Ankara's actions "unacceptable and undermining the sovereignty" of the Arab republic.
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Based on materials from TASS