Erdogan: Nothing can prevent Türkiye from preserving its own security

No one can prevent Türkiye from using its right to preserve its own security, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.

"Türkiye has the right to all kinds of dispositions in the areas it has determined outside and inside its borders for its own security," Erdogan said at a meeting in Istanbul on Sunday.

"No one can prevent us from exercising this right," he said, referring to the country's recently launched cross-border operation in northern Iraq and Syria.

Erdogan said that Türkiye has neutralised 480 terrorists since the beginning of the ongoing Operation Claw-Lock in northern Iraq, located near the Turkish border.

READ MORE: Akar: Türkiye neutralises 13 more PKK terrorists in northern Iraq operation

Operation Claw-Lock

Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Lock in April to target the PKK terror organisation's hideouts in the Metina, Zap, and Avasin-Basyan regions of northern Iraq, located near the Turkish border.

It was preceded by Operations Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle launched in 2020 to root out terrorists hiding out in northern Iraq and plotting cross-border attacks in Türkiye.

Recently, Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Sword in northern Iraq and Syria, a cross-border aerial campaign against the PKK/YPG terror group, which has illegal hideouts across the Iraqi and Syrian borders where they plan and sometimes execute attacks on Turkish soil.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organisation by Türkiye, the US, and EU — has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

READ MORE: Two Turkish soldiers killed during anti-terror operation in northern Iraq