On Sunday, Turkey launched Operation Claw Sword against the Northern Iraq-based Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Syrian-Kurdish militant group YPG. The Turkish government blames Kurdish extremists for the Istanbul bombing earlier this month that killed six people and injured more than 80. The main suspect arrested, a Syrian woman, has allegedly confessed.
According to Akar, 89 targets were destroyed during the first phase of the operation, including shelters, bunkers and warehouses held by the militants. Turkey had already announced the operation last week.