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3 Turkish Soldiers Killed in Northern Iraq

Turkish soldiers patrol a road near Cukurca in the Hakkari province, southeastern Turkey, near the Turkish-Iraqi border. (File photo: Reuters)
Turkish soldiers patrol a road near Cukurca in the Hakkari province, southeastern Turkey, near the Turkish-Iraqi border. (File photo: Reuters)
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3 Turkish Soldiers Killed in Northern Iraq

Turkish soldiers patrol a road near Cukurca in the Hakkari province, southeastern Turkey, near the Turkish-Iraqi border. (File photo: Reuters)
Turkish soldiers patrol a road near Cukurca in the Hakkari province, southeastern Turkey, near the Turkish-Iraqi border. (File photo: Reuters)

Three Turkish soldiers died Thursday in an attack in northern Iraq launched by Kurdish militants, prompting a retaliatory air strike, the Turkish defense ministry said.

"Three of our heroic soldiers were killed in an attack staged by the terrorists in the north of Iraq," the ministry said, referring to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

"There's an ongoing operation in the region."

Turkish forces routinely conduct military strikes against PKK hideouts in the mountains of northern Iraq.

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EU Says It Is Ready to Ease Sanctions on Syria

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (R) and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas (L) pose for a photo during their meeting in Ankara, Türkiye, 24 January 2025. (EPA)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (R) and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas (L) pose for a photo during their meeting in Ankara, Türkiye, 24 January 2025. (EPA)
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EU Says It Is Ready to Ease Sanctions on Syria

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (R) and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas (L) pose for a photo during their meeting in Ankara, Türkiye, 24 January 2025. (EPA)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (R) and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas (L) pose for a photo during their meeting in Ankara, Türkiye, 24 January 2025. (EPA)

The European Union’s foreign policy chief said the 27-member bloc is ready to ease sanctions on Syria, but added the move would be a gradual one contingent on the transitional Syrian government’s actions.

Speaking during a joint news conference in Ankara with Türkiye's foreign minister on Friday, Kaja Kallas also said the EU was considering introducing a “fallback mechanism” that would allow it to reimpose sanctions if the situation in Syria worsens.

“If we see the steps of the Syrian leadership going to the right direction, then we are also willing to ease next level of sanctions,” she said. “We also want to have a fallback mechanism. If we see that the developments are going to the wrong direction, we are also putting the sanctions back.”

The top EU diplomat said the EU would start by easing sanctions that are necessary to rebuild the country that has been battered by more than a decade of civil war.

The plan to ease sanctions on Syria would be discussed at a EU foreign ministers meeting on Monday, Kallas said.