Erdoğan says Turkey nearing completion of Iraq, Syria offensives

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Saturday said Ankara is close to realizing its goals in its ongoing military operations against Kurdish fighters in neighbouring Iraq and Syria's north.

Erdoğan's remarks come a day after the Turkish Defence Ministry announced one soldier had been killed and another injured in northern Iraq after an improvised explosive device detonated, and accused the "separatist group" of the incident.

Turkey often uses the term to refer to the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Turkey, the US and EU also classify the PKK as a terrorist group.

"We are going to complete the lockdown of the area of Claw-Lock operation in northern Iraq very soon," Erdoğan told military academy graduates in Istanbul.

Erdoğan was referring to the offensive Turkey launched in April 2022 in what it said aimed to fend off PKK attacks from Iraq's north.

Turkey has earlier agreed with the government in Baghdad to cooperate on targeting PKK fighters in Iraq where the group is based.

PKK is now "completely trapped" in both Iraq and Syria, Erdoğan said.

"We will complete the missing points of the security belt along our southern border with Syria," he added.

Turkey has carried out ground offensives in northern Syria to push Kurdish militia from its border since 2016. It controls swathes of land in the area.

Erdoğan recently referred to plans for a rapprochement with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The Turkish president is under growing domestic pressure regarding over 3 million Syrian refugees in Turkey.

Ankara is "determined not to allow any structure that will pose a threat to our country along the Iraq and Syria borders," Erdoğan added.