ANKARA, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Turkish army has launched a "counter-terrorism" ground operation supported by airstrikes in northern Iraq's Hakurk, Turkish Defense Ministry said Tuesday.
"The Operation Claw started on May 27 by a commando brigade followed by fires of the Land Forces artillery batteries and the Air Forces in Hakurk region of northern Iraq," said the ministry in a statement.
Turkish ATAK helicopters supported the operation, said the ministry, adding that the operation aims to demolish the hideouts and shelters that are being used by "terrorist groups and to eliminate terrorists."
Special forces have carried out a mission in the region to destroy the Ankara-outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) targets in the region, a Turkish official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
Hakurk is a transition point to hideouts of the PKK headquarters in northern Iraq, where the group uses to infiltrate into Turkish territory.
The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union, has been striving to establish an independent Kurdish state by armed rebellion since the 1970s.
Since the beginning of the year, Turkey has intensified its airstrikes and land operations to fight PKK militants in northern Syria and Iraq.
