Operations Claw-Lightning and Thunderbolt

Operations Claw-Lightning and Thunderbolt
Part of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict
Date23 April 2021 – 17 April 2022
(11 months, 3 weeks and 4 days)
Location
Metina, Zap and Avashin Basyan regions, Duhok and Erbil Governorate, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
Belligerents

 Turkey

Kurdistan Region Kurdistan Region (from 6 June 2021)
Kurdistan Workers' Party
Commanders and leaders

Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Turkey Hasan Küçükakyüz
Turkey Ali Özmen
Turkey Hulusi Akar
Turkey Yaşar Güler


Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani

Cemîl Bayik
Murat Karayılan

Sofi Nurettin [1]
Units involved

Turkey Turkish Armed Forces

Ministry of the Interior


KCK

Strength

Turkey Unknown personnel
50 aircraft including[2]


Kurdistan Region Unknown
Unknown
Casualties and losses

Turkey 21 killed (per Turkey)[3]


Kurdistan Region 6 killed
7 wounded
2 captured[4][5]
142 killed or captured (per Turkey)[6][7]

Claw-Lightning and Claw-Thunderbolt (Turkish: Pençe-Şimşek ve Pençe-Yıldırım Operasyonları) were Turkish Armed Forces cross border military operations in northern Iraq. The operations took place in the Metina, Zap and Avashin-Basyan regions against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) targets, as part of the ongoing Kurdish–Turkish conflict.

  1. ^ "Erdogan: High-ranking PKK militant killed in Iraq operation". Associated Press. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  2. ^ Ergan, Uğur; Altuncu, Özgür (25 April 2021). "Komandolar Kuzey Irak'ta". Hürriyet. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  3. ^ 7 killed (23 April–3 May),[1] 1 killed (9 May),[2] 1 killed (14 May),[3] 1 killed (23 May),[4] 1 killed (6 June),[5] 2 killed (28 July),[6] 4 killed (16 August),[7] 1 killed (12 September),[8] 3 killed (9 December),[9] total of 21 reported killed
  4. ^ "العراق.. مقتل وإصابة 10 من قوات البيشمركة في هجوم دهوك- (تغريدة)". Al Quds. 6 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  5. ^ "العمال-الكوردستاني" "استشهاد مقاتل في البيشمركة بيد "العمال الكوردستاني"". Kurdistan 24. 8 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference cas2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Terör yuvalarına 'Pençe' darbesi".