List of Turkish operations in northern Iraq

Turkish operations in Northern Iraq
Part of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict; Iraqi Kurdish Civil War
Current military situation:   Controlled by the Federal Government   Controlled by the Kurdistan Region   Controlled by the Turkish Armed Forces
Date 1983–present Location Kurdistan Region, Iraq Result Ongoing
Belligerents
Turkey Previous: KDP (1992, 1995, 1997) [1] [2] PUK (1992) [1] [2]	PKK YBŞ PJAK [3] YJA STAR [4] Previous: PUK (1997) [5]
Casualties and losses
400+ killed [6]	8,000+ killed 1,700 captured, [6]
6,800+ displaced [7]

The Kurdish-Turkish conflict spilled over into Iraqi Kurdistan in 1983, ^[8] and has continued there intermittently since. The Turkish Armed Forces has launched a series of operations in Northern Iraq against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). ^[9] More than 37,000 people have been killed in the conflict since 1984. ^[10]

The operations resulted in a permanent Turkish presence in northern Iraq since 2018. ^[11] The Iraqi government at one time viewed these operations as a violation of Iraq's sovereignty, ^[12] with President Barham Salih demanding from Turkey their end, and the withdrawal of all of the Turkish armed forces from his country's territory. ^[13]

Date	Operation	TAF Fatalities (Wounded)	PKK Fatalities (Captured)
27 May 1984 – 10 October 1984	Operation Hot Pursuit	?	?
5 October 1992 – 15 November 1992	Operation Northern Iraq	28 (125)	1,551 (1,232)
20 March 1995 – 4 May 1995	Operation Steel	64 (185)	555 (13)
12 May 1997 – 7 July 1997	Operation Hammer	114 (338)	2,730 (418)
25 September 1997 – 15 October 1997	Operation Dawn	31 (91)	865 (37)
21 February 2008 – 29 February 2008	Operation Sun	27 [14] [15] [16]	240
24 July 2015 – 25 July 2015	Operation Martyr Yalçın	8	160
25 April 2017	2017 Turkish airstrikes in Syria and Iraq	0	33
28 May 2019 – 14 June 2020	Operation Claw	17 [17]	417 [18]
15 June 2020 – 17 April 2022	Operations Claw-Lightning and Thunderbolt	305	141
10 February 2021 – 14 February 2021	Operation Claw-Eagle 2	90	31
23 April 2021 – 17 April 2022	Operations Claw-Lightning and Thunderbolt	36	387
17 April 2022 – 4 May 2022	Operation Claw Lock	83	995
Total:		282 (739)	6,417 (2,700)

See also

• Kurdish–Turkish conflict (1978–present) §External operations

References

1. Iraq – Kurds (1961 – first combat deaths) Archived 2007-06-20 at the Wayback Machine , January 2005
2. Turkey (1984–2002) Archived 2011-02-07 at the Wayback Machine , March 2003
3. "Page 2" (PDF). Retrieved 29 May 2023.
4. "YJA Star Commander Batûfa Çekdar: Turkey is doomed to defeat thanks to the stance of the Kurds". ANF News. 29 June 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
5. "The Arab Spring, ITS Effects on the Kurds, and the Approaches of Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Iraq on the Kurdish Issue". Archived from the original on 17 September 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
6. "Ve Sonuç". Hürriyet . Retrieved 11 October 2007.
7. "Timeline Turkey 1962-2008". Archived from the original on 23 December 2010. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
8. "Irak'a yapılan en büyük kara harekatı". Archived from the original on 14 January 2015.
9. "Council Decision", Council of the European Union, 21 December 2005
10. "Kurdish rebels kill Turkey troops". BBC News. 8 April 2007. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
11. Yousif Ismael (18 May 2020). "Turkey's Growing Military Presence in the Kurdish Region of Iraq". Washington Institute. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
12. Hermann, Rainer. "Operation im Nordirak: Bagdad erzürnt über türkische Offensive gegen die PKK". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). ISSN   0174-4909 . Retrieved 19 April 2022.
13. "Iraq's president says Turkey's offensive into KRG 'a threat to our national security'". Bianet . 19 April 2022.
14. "Twenty-five killed in clashes between Turkish soldiers, PKK - Monster…". Archived from the original on 4 September 2012.
15. "38 killed in PKK attack on Turkish border posts - Thaindian News". Archived from the original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
16. "Armed Conflicts Report - Turkey". Archived from the original on 7 February 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
17. 2 killed (30 May 2019), 1 killed (19 July 2019 per turkey), 3 killed (25 Aug. 2019), 2 killed (23 Sep. 2019), 1 died (28 Oct. 2019), 1 killed (2 Dec. 2019), 2 killed (2 Jan. 2020), 2 killed (14 Jan. 2020), 2 killed (25 March 2020), 1 killed (15 April 2020), total of 17 reported killed
18. Morrow, Sibel; Alhas, Ali Murat (18 September 2019). "New phase begins in Turkey's northern Iraq operation". Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 24 August 2025.