The Ministry of National Defense announced in a statement Tuesday that Operation Claw was launched at 8 p.m. on Monday on PKK camps in the Hakurk region with commando brigades and fire support from helicopters, following artillery and airstrikes targeting PKK shelters and ammunition depots.
After the bombardment, commando brigades, backed by T-129 ATAK helicopters and armed and unarmed drones, were deployed to the area.
The operation aims to destroy shelters and caves used by the terrorist group, the statement said.
A statement later in the day by the Defense Ministry confirmed nine PKK terrorists had been neutralized in the operation.
Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply the terrorists in question either surrendered or were killed or captured. It added that airstrikes targeting the nearby Zap and Qandil regions hit PKK's gun positions, shelters and ammunition depots.
Security sources told Anadolu Agency (AA) that Operation Claw was launched after extensive planning and surveillance on the PKK terrorists' locations in the region.
Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaşar Güler and army, air force and navy commanders directed the operation throughout the night at the Command and Operation Center at the Turkish General Staff headquarters in Ankara.