Turkey begins large-scale operation in northern Iraq against Kurdish militants

Turkish soldiers conduct military exercises near the Habur crossing gate between Turkey and Iraq. (AFP/File)
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Updated 18 April 2022
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Turkey begins large-scale operation in northern Iraq against Kurdish militants

  • Latest offensive likely to have repercussions in domestic politics in the eyes of nationalist voters, analyst tells Arab News
  • Special forces, elite commando units deployed for ‘Operation Claw Lock’

ANKARA: Turkey has begun the new week with the launch of a large-scale ground and aerial cross-border offensive against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq.

Alongside artillery, T129B helicopters, drones and F-16 fighters, Turkey’s Special Forces and elite commando units were also deployed as part of the campaign that reportedly struck targets of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq’s Metina, Zap and Avashin-Basyan regions.

The cross-border action, named Operation Claw Lock, came a day after Turkey’s Minister of Interior Suleyman Soylu said: “We will save Syria and Iraq from the hands of the US and Europe, and bring peace there.”

For Zaed Ismail, member of the scientific committee of the Istanbul-based Academy of International Relations, the operation is related to increased missile strikes against the Turkish base in Zilikan in Nineveh, and the PKK’s expansion in northern Iraq deep into Sinjar. It is also linked to recent political contact between Ankara and Irbil.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently met with Masrour Barzani, the prime minister of Iraq’s Kurdistan regional government in Irbil.

Experts have noted that Sinjar is turning into an alternative headquarters for the PKK.

“The military operations began about a week after the visit of Barzani to ​​Ankara and it clearly indicated the existence of security coordination between Irbil and Ankara to launch the military operation,” Ismail said.

Ismail said the PKK “began posing an increased existential threat to the political stability of the entire geography of northern Iraq, with repeated missile attacks on Irbil Airport.”

The offensive was carried out in coordination with Turkey’s “friends and allies,” the Defense Ministry stated.

But, for Ismail, it is difficult to resolve the battle through airstrikes, unless the international conditions are created for a broad ground operation.

The operation, which began at midnight, was launched as Russia showed no letup in its invasion of Ukraine, while Turkey’s mediation role was welcomed by Western partners.

Both the US and the EU have already designated the PKK as a terror group.

Tuna Aygun, an Iraq expert at Ankara-based think tank ORSAM, said the latest operation took place as part of a previous offensive, but this time Turkey was targeting runaway elements of the PKK from the eastern and western parts of the region.

“The operation area (had been) a shelter for the PKK militants for some time. Especially since 2017, (the) PKK mostly concentrated its logistical and military strength in Iraq to hit targets in Turkey,” he told Arab News.

“By establishing temporary military bases, Turkey aims at establishing its control on the transit routes of the militants according to the geographical characteristics of the territory,” said Aygun.

However, it is still unclear how long the military operation will endure and whether the movements of the PKK militants will be restricted.

“It will not be a one-day operation. But with the increased use of armed drones during such offensives, these moves do not depend any longer on the clim(actic) conditions,” Aygun said. He added that Turkey’s latest operation has the support of Baghdad and Irbil because it is being seen as a way to stabilize a region where thousands of civilians were displaced in recent years due to the PKK’s presence.

Ahead of the upcoming elections next year, this operation is also likely to have domestic repercussions in Turkish politics in the eyes of nationalist voters, and used as a trump card against the opposition pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party.

Yerevan Saeed, research associate at the Arab Gulf Institute in Washington, said Turkey has been seeking to build a security zone inside the Kurdistan region for a number of years.

“The military operation appears to be deeper and more intense this year,” he told Arab News.

Its objectives are likely to include seizing control of strategic areas of Afashin, Matin, Khukuk and Zab. “(The) Turkish military has failed to control them in the past,” he added.

“If successful, Ankara will be able to separate Qandil mountains where PKK bases are located from (the) Rojava and Sinjar areas, (restricting the) PKK’s movements.”

Ali Semin, an expert on Iraqi politics from Nisantasi University in Istanbul, said the offensive is part of a series of operations since 2019 to create a buffer zone between its border with Northern Iraq and PKK-dominated areas.

“Ankara seems to seize the best political opportunity to expand its operation,” he told Arab News.

“The leadership in Baghdad and Irbil consider the latest activities of the PKK as an intervention (to) their political presence,” said Semin.

“Unlike the past operations of Turkey that were criticized by Iraqi authorities as a violation of their territorial sovereignty, Turkey’s current operation mostly (have) their backing,” said the expert.

Over the last three decades, Semin said, about 250 villages had been evacuated in northern Iraq. This was also where fighting in the past few years has intensified between Peshmerga forces loyal to the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the PKK.

According to Noah Ringler, an expert from Georgetown University, the offensive has received military support from the Turkish-aligned KDP Peshmerga and comes amid ongoing challenges with government formations in Baghdad, where Turkish officials now believe they have broad support from political parties for the operation.

“The goals of the operation likely include new Turkish operations posts closer to the PKK’s strategic strongholds near Qandil mountains, which holds political significance in Turkey, as well as disruption of PKK operations and influence in the region, and the strengthening of Kurdish and Iraqi political actors aligned with Turkey,” he told Arab News.

Experts also note that the success of such operations will also influence local dynamics in Syria.

“(The) Kurdish People’s Protection Units are mostly supported logistically and militarily by the PKK bases in Sinjar,” Semin said.

Baghdad and Irbil reached a security and administrative agreement on Sinjar on Oct. 9, 2020.

However, the agreement that called for the removal of PKK forces in the region has not been implemented yet.

“Turkey, together with Baghdad and Irbil, can be a facilitator to execute this agreement and turn the region into a secure zone where the Iraqi authorities regain control,” Semin said.


Syrian government urges parties to respect truce in Druze region

Updated 6 sec ago
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Syrian government urges parties to respect truce in Druze region

  • ‘Internal security forces have begun deploying in Sweida province... with the aim of protecting civilians and putting an end to the chaos’

DAMASCUS: Syria’s Islamist-led government said its security forces were deploying in the predominantly Druze southern city of Sweida on Saturday and urged all parties to respect a ceasefire after days of factional bloodshed that has left hundreds dead.

Interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa in a separate speech said that “Arab and American” mediation had helped bring calm, and criticized Israel for airstrikes against Syrian government forces in the south and Damascus during the week.

Sweida province has been engulfed by nearly a week of violence, which began with clashes between Bedouin fighters and Druze factions, before Damascus sent in government security forces.

Israel has carried out airstrikes in southern Syria and on the defense ministry in Damascus, saying it is protecting the Druze minority, of whom there are a significant number in Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

In a statement on Saturday, the Syrian presidency announced an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire and urged all parties to end hostilities immediately.

The interior ministry said internal security forces had begun deploying in Sweida.

Sharaa called for calm and said Syria would not be a “testing ground for partition, secession, or sectarian incitement.”

“The Israeli intervention pushed the country into a dangerous phase that threatened its stability,” he said in a televised speech.

Tribal and Bedouin fighters cross the Al-Dur village in Syria's southern Sweida governorate as they mobilize amid clashes with Druze gunmen on July 18, 2025. (AFP)

US envoy Tom Barrack announced on Friday that Syria and Israel had agreed to a ceasefire supported by Turkiye, Jordan and neighbors.

Barrack, who is both US ambassador to Turkiye and Washington’s Syria envoy, urged Druze, Bedouins and Sunnis to put down their weapons “and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity.”

Israel has attacked Syrian military facilities and weaponry in the seven months since Sharaa’s forces toppled President Bashar Assad, and says it wants areas of southern Syria near its border to remain demilitarized.

On Friday, an Israeli official said Israel had agreed to allow Syrian forces limited access to the Sweida area for the next two days.


Gaza civil defense says Israeli attacks kill 26 near two aid centers

Updated 19 July 2025
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Gaza civil defense says Israeli attacks kill 26 near two aid centers

  • 22 were killed near a site southwest of Khan Yunis and four near a center northwest of Rafah

GAZA: Gaza’s civil defense agency on Saturday said Israeli attacks killed 26 people and wounded more than 100 near two aid centers in the south of the Palestinian territory.
Agency spokesman Mahmud Basal told AFP that 22 were killed near a site southwest of Khan Yunis and four near another center northwest of Rafah, blaming “Israeli gunfire” for both.
One eyewitness said he headed to the Al-Tina area of Khan Yunis before dawn with five of his relatives to try to get food when “Israeli soldiers” started shooting.
“My relatives and I were unable to get anything,” Abdul Aziz Abed, 37, told AFP. “Every day I go there and all we get is bullets and exhaustion instead of food.”
The Israeli military said it was “looking into” the claims when contacted by AFP.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the agency and other parties.
The war in Gaza, sparked by militant group Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, has created dire humanitarian conditions for the local population.
The more than two million people who live in the densely populated coastal territory are facing severe shortages of food and other essentials, and doctors have reported a spike in acute malnutrition.
Deaths of people waiting for handouts in huge crowds near aid distribution centers have become a regular occurrence, with the Palestinian authorities blaming Israeli fire.
The civil defense agency reported that nine people were shot and killed near the same aid point in the Al-Shakoush area northwest of Rafah on Friday.
The US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which took over the running of aid distribution in late May, said 20 people died in Khan Yunis on Wednesday.
But it blamed “agitators in the crowd... armed and affiliated with Hamas” for creating “a chaotic and dangerous surge” and firing at aid-seekers.
The previous day, the UN said it had recorded 875 people killed in Gaza while trying to get food, including 674 “in the vicinity of GHF sites,” since it began operating.
The free flow of aid into Gaza is a key demand of Hamas in the indirect talks with Israel for a 60-day ceasefire in the 21-month war.
It also wants a full Israeli military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
For its part, Israel wants Hamas to disarm to neutralize it as a security threat and the release of hostages still being held.
Both sides have accused the other of intransigence and holding up a deal.
Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel led to the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Of the 251 people taken hostage that day, 49 are still in Gaza, including the 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory military action has killed 58,667 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
 


Trump says more hostages to be released from Gaza shortly

Explosions send smoke and debris into the air in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. (REUTERS)
Updated 19 July 2025
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Trump says more hostages to be released from Gaza shortly

  • Trump has been predicting for weeks that a ceasefire and hostage-release deal was imminent, but agreement has proven elusive
  • Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 58,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities

WASHINGTON: Another 10 hostages will be released from Gaza shortly, US President Donald Trump said on Friday, without providing additional details.

Trump made the comment during a dinner with lawmakers at the White House, lauding the efforts of his special envoy Steve Witkoff. Israeli and Hamas negotiators have been taking part in the latest round of ceasefire talks in Doha since July 6, discussing a US-backed proposal for a 60-day ceasefire.

“We got most of the hostages back. We’re going to have another 10 coming very shortly, and we hope to have that finished quickly,” Trump said.

Trump has been predicting for weeks that a ceasefire and hostage-release deal was imminent, but agreement has proven elusive.

A spokesperson for the armed wing of Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that controls Gaza, on Friday said the group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, but could revert to insisting on a full package deal if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations.

The truce proposal calls for 10 hostages held in Gaza to be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.

Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 58,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.

Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies.


How rising temperatures may be linked to cancer cases and deaths among women in Middle East and North Africa

Updated 19 July 2025
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How rising temperatures may be linked to cancer cases and deaths among women in Middle East and North Africa

  • Researchers link rising temperatures to higher cancer rates and urge deeper study of climate-health risks facing women regionwide
  • New evidence suggests climate change may be worsening cancer outcomes for women, prompting calls for urgent regional response

LONDON: Researchers at the American University in Cairo have identified a disturbing link between rising temperatures and increases in cases of breast, cervical, ovarian and uterine cancers among women in the Middle East and North Africa region.

The key message of a study that has identified “a significant correlation between prolonged exposure to high ambient temperatures and all four cancer types” is as simple as it is urgent, said Wafa Abu El-Kheir-Mataria, senior researcher at the Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology at the American University in Cairo.

“Our findings make it clear that climate change is not a distant or abstract threat. It is already impacting women’s health in tangible ways,” said Dr. Kheir-Mataria, co-author with Prof. Sungsoo Chun, associate director of the institute, of a new paper published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health.

“In the MENA region, rising temperatures are significantly correlated with increased prevalence and mortality of several cancers affecting women.”

She added: “This evidence highlights the urgent need to integrate climate risks into cancer control strategies today, not tomorrow.”

The study looked at 17 countries in the MENA region and examined how increasing average temperatures coincided with how often women were getting certain cancers and dying from them.

The connection between rising temperatures and increasing cases of the four types of cancer was found to be significant in just six countries — Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Syria and Jordan.

The finding that the four wealthy Gulf states featured significantly was a “very important observation,” said Dr. Kheir-Mataria, and one that merits urgent further investigation.

Wafa Abu El Kheir-Mataria, senior researcher at the American University in Cairo. (Supplied)

“The Gulf countries have some of the strongest healthcare systems in the region,” she said.

“However, what our findings may reflect is that even high-performing systems are now facing new, complex challenges brought about by climate change — challenges that may not yet be fully addressed within traditional cancer control strategies.”

The Gulf states, she added, “are also among those experiencing the most extreme and rapid increases in temperature, which can amplify environmental exposures that are not always visible or easily managed, such as air pollution or heat-related physiological stress.”

At the same time, “social and behavioral factors, like health-seeking behaviors or cultural barriers to early screening, may continue to influence outcomes despite strong system capacity.”

DID YOU KNOW?

• Breast, ovarian, uterine and cervical cancers are rising in parts of MENA as temperatures increase year on year.

• Even Gulf countries with strong health systems show above-average increases in cancer deaths linked to climate stress.

• Researchers say a 4 C rise by 2050 could amplify health risks, but more local studies are urgently needed.

Dr Kheir-Mataria wants “more in-depth, country-specific research in countries such as Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Our study is an important starting point, but it has clear limitations. We worked with publicly available data and focused primarily on the relationship between temperature and cancer outcomes, while controlling for income.

“However, many other important factors such as air pollution levels, urban heat islands, occupational exposure, genetic predispositions, and healthcare utilization patterns were beyond the scope of this analysis.”

To fully understand all the factors at play, “we need access to more granular data and the opportunity to examine these additional variables in context.

 displaced Palestinian woman washes a cap n the beach in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on June 24, 2024. A study says the connection between rising temperatures and increasing cases of the four types of cancer was found to be significant in six Mideastern countries. (NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“That’s why we are actively seeking local partnerships with research institutions, ministries of health, and environmental agencies and funding to support collaborative studies.”

The Gulf states, she said, “are uniquely positioned to lead the way in advancing global understanding of climate-related health risks, and we would be honored to work together to generate evidence that informs national policy and protects women’s health in the face of climate change.”

Meanwhile, it is necessary to “acknowledge that environmental stressors such as rising temperatures and air pollution can exacerbate cancer risks, particularly for vulnerable groups such as women, and incorporate climate change adaptation into cancer control plans.”

Adaptation strategies “might include strengthening early detection and screening services in high-risk areas, ensuring healthcare facilities remain accessible during climate-related disruptions, and integrating environmental risk monitoring into public health planning.”


A woman with cancer cleanses her skin in a make-up class. Cancer therapy with chemotherapy or radiotherapy can drastically change the appearance of the patient with hair loss, loss of eyelashes and eyebrows or skin irritation. (Picture Alliance via Getty Images)

Dr Kheir-Mataria said this “involves cross-sectoral collaboration between health, environmental, and planning ministries to build climate resilient healthcare systems.”

The study combined two decades of data from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation’s Global Burden of Disease with statistics on temperature change from the FAOSTAT Climate Change database of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, for every year from 1998 to 2019.

Applying a method of statistical analysis called multiple linear regression, which adjusted results to take account of socioeconomic differences between countries that might influence health outcomes, the researchers were able to identify “a clear pattern: where temperatures rose, cancer rates and deaths often rose too.”

This was expressed in the percentage increase in cases and deaths for each degree Celcius the temperature rose. For example, the largest increase in deaths was found in ovarian cancer, with an overall average increase across the 17 countries of 0.33 percentage points per degree.

But increased numbers of deaths from ovarian cancer were higher than average in Jordan and the UAE (both 0.48).

Although the overall increase in deaths from cervical cancer was the lowest of the four diseases (0.171), the increase was higher than average in Iran (0.3), Jordan (0.45), and Qatar (0.61).

A study says the connection between rising temperatures and increasing cases of the four types of cancer was found to be significant in six Mideastern countries. (NurPhoto via Getty Images)

In Saudi Arabia, significant increases in cases were detected in ovarian (0.29) and uterine (0.36) cancers. An above-average increase in deaths in the Kingdom was found in breast cancer (0.31). 

The paper points out that, with a temperature rise of 4 C expected by 2050, “the MENA region is particularly at risk due to global warming.”

In 2019, 175,707 women in the region died from cancer. But, Dr Kheir-Mataria said, it was not possible to simply multiply the study’s findings by four to predict the number of additional cancer deaths by 2050 related to rising temperatures.

“This is a question we fully understand the interest in, but we must be very careful not to overstate what our data can tell us,” she said.

A displaced Palestinian woman is being seen on the beach in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on June 24, 2024. A study says the connection between rising temperatures and increasing cases of the four types of cancer was found to be significant in six Mideastern countries. (NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“Our study found a statistical association between rising temperatures and cancer deaths among women. However, these are correlations, not predictions, and they were based on historical data over a specific period, with many other contributing factors.

“Projecting the number of additional deaths by 2050 based on a hypothetical 4 C rise would go beyond what our data allows, as it would require complex modelling that includes population growth, healthcare system changes, adaptation measures, and other environmental or behavioral variables.

“We did not conduct such a projection in this study, and doing so responsibly would require a separate research design.”

She added: “That said, the potential implications of a 4 C increase are certainly concerning, particularly in countries already experiencing extreme heat.

“This is why we strongly advocate for further research, including dynamic modelling and country-level analyses, to understand and prepare for the possible long-term health impacts of climate change, especially on women.”
 

 


Israeli military says missile launched from Yemen was intercepted

Updated 18 July 2025
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Israeli military says missile launched from Yemen was intercepted

Israeli military said late on Friday that it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen after air raid sirens sounded in several areas across Israel.
The Iran-aligned Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen, have been firing at Israel and attacking shipping lanes.
Houthis have repeatedly said that their attacks are an act of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel’s military assault since late 2023 has killed more than 58,000 people, Gaza authorities say.
Most of the dozens of missiles and drones they have launched have been intercepted or fallen short. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes.