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Turkish Soldier Killed, Another Injured in PKK Attack North Iraq

Two Turkish military helicopters participate in bombing PKK sites in northern Iraq. (Turkish Ministry of Defense)
Two Turkish military helicopters participate in bombing PKK sites in northern Iraq. (Turkish Ministry of Defense)
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Turkish Soldier Killed, Another Injured in PKK Attack North Iraq

Two Turkish military helicopters participate in bombing PKK sites in northern Iraq. (Turkish Ministry of Defense)
Two Turkish military helicopters participate in bombing PKK sites in northern Iraq. (Turkish Ministry of Defense)

A Turkish soldier was killed and another was injured during the weekend in an attack launched by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on a Turkish military base in northern Iraq.
In a statement, the Defense Ministry said Turkish forces from the Operation Claw-Lock zone in north Iraq, intercepted on Saturday night a PKK attempt to infiltrate the base.
The operation claimed the life of one soldier, the Ministry said. Following the attack, Turkish retaliatory operations in the area “neutralized” eight PKK members, it added.
Ankara typically uses the term “neutralized” to mean killed.
“PKK terrorists, who tried to infiltrate the zone, were forced to flee after the successful intervention of our special forces,” the statement said.
Turkish soldiers then found weapons and ammunition in the possession of the terrorists during the search and sweep activities.
At least 21 Turkish soldiers were killed in PKK attacks on Turkish military bases in the “Claw-Lock” operation zone in the past two months.
In response, Turkish forces conducted raids on positions of the PKK in north Iraq and Syria.
Over the course of three decades, Ankara has established tens of permanent bases in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region to fight the PKK.
But the presence of Turkish troops in the area occasionally causes friction and tension with Baghdad.
In the past week, Ankara, Baghdad and Erbil have engaged in active and intensive talks on combating and cutting off support for the PKK, and also on imposing measures to control the Iraqi borders with Türkiye and Syria.
Ankara has highlighted the PKK's threat to Baghdad and Erbil to convince them to join its operations against the group.
Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan highlighted the recent progress made through ongoing consultations with Baghdad and Erbil.
“We see good developments in terms of steps both by the central administration in Baghdad and northern Iraq,” he said.
However, the Turkish President said that “despite numerous warnings, the Sulaymaniyah, namely the PUK administration (in northern Iraq), unfortunately, continues to embrace the terrorist organization,” warning that his country cannot overlook this matter.

 

 

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Hezbollah Fires about 250 Rockets, Other Projectiles into Israel in Heaviest Barrage in Weeks

Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
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Hezbollah Fires about 250 Rockets, Other Projectiles into Israel in Heaviest Barrage in Weeks

Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)

Hezbollah fired about 250 rockets and other projectiles into Israel on Sunday, wounding seven people in one of the group's heaviest barrages in months, in response to deadly Israeli strikes in Beirut while negotiators pressed on with ceasefire efforts to halt the all-out war.

Some of the rockets reached the Tel Aviv area in the heart of Israel.

Meanwhile, an Israeli strike on an army center killed a Lebanese soldier and wounded 18 others in the southwest between Tyre and Naqoura, Lebanon's military said.  

The Israeli military expressed regret, saying that the strike occurred in an area of combat against Hezbollah and that the military's operations are directed solely against the fighters.

Israeli strikes have killed over 40 Lebanese troops since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, even as Lebanon's military has largely kept to the sidelines.

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned the latest strike as an assault on US-led ceasefire efforts, calling it a “direct, bloody message rejecting all efforts and ongoing contacts” to end the war.

Hezbollah fires rockets after strikes on Beirut  

Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of the Gaza Strip ignited the war there. Hezbollah has portrayed the attacks as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas. Iran supports both armed groups.

Israel launched retaliatory airstrikes at Hezbollah, and in September the low-level conflict erupted into all-out war as Israel launched waves of airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon and killed Hezbollah's top leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and several top commanders.

The Israeli military said about 250 projectiles were fired Sunday, with some intercepted.

Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said it treated seven people, including a 60-year old man in severe condition from rocket fire on northern Israel, a 23-year-old man who was lightly wounded by a blast in the central city of Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv, and a 70-year-old woman who suffered smoke inhalation from a car that caught fire there.  

In Haifa, a rocket hit a residential building that police said was in danger of collapsing.

The Palestine Red Crescent reported 13 injuries it said were caused by an interceptor missile that struck several homes in Tulkarem in the West Bank. It was unclear whether the injuries and damage elsewhere were caused by rockets or interceptors.

Sirens wailed again in central and northern Israel hours later.

Israeli airstrikes without warning on Saturday pounded central Beirut, killing at least 29 people and wounding 67, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

Smoke billowed above Beirut again Sunday with new strikes. Israel's military said it targeted Hezbollah command centers in the southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, where the group has a strong presence.

Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,700 people in Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population.

On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardment in northern Israel and in battle following Israel's ground invasion in early October. Around 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from the country's north.

EU envoy calls for pressure to reach a truce  

The Biden administration has spent months trying to broker a ceasefire, and US envoy Amos Hochstein was in the region last week.

The European Union’s top diplomat called Sunday for more pressure on Israel and Hezbollah to reach a deal, saying one was "pending with a final agreement from the Israeli government.”

Josep Borrell spoke after meeting with Mikati and Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who has been mediating with the group.

Borrell said the EU is ready to allocate 200 million euros ($208 million) to assist the Lebanese military, which would deploy additional forces to the south.

The emerging agreement would pave the way for the withdrawal of Hezbollah and Israeli troops from southern Lebanon below the Litani River in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution that ended the monthlong 2006 war. Lebanese troops would patrol with the presence of UN peacekeepers.