Turkish Armed Forces

The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) has successfully completed its four-day Operation Claw-Eagle 2 and cleared Gara region of Northern Iraq of PKK elements, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Feb. 14, adding that PKK terrorists killed 13 unarmed Turkish citizens that they were held hostage since 2015.

A Turkish flag in the city of Istanbul, May 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE/ERDEM SAHIN

The arrests came after prosecutors in the city of Izmir on Tuesday ordered the detention of 238 serving and former military officers including high-ranking soldiers.

A total of 218 of the suspects are still serving in various branches of the Turkish Armed Forces and Gendarmerie.

A top Turkish official is calling on the new U.S. administration to engage in a dialogue with Turkey and to review a decision to sanction the country over its purchase of an advanced Russian air defense system.

That request comes even though Washington has made clear that there can be no waiver of the sanctions until Ankara disposes of the Russian technology.

The Turkish personnel assigned to work in the joint monitoring center in Karabakh arrived in Azerbaijan, the Turkish defense minister announced on Dec. 29. 

Turkey top defense official on Dec. 26 met with the Chairman of Libya's High Council of State in a visit to Libya.

In what is viewed in Athens as yet another rant, Turkey slammed Greece on Thursday for not participating in the scheduled meeting of the Greek-Turkish military committees under NATO auspices, claiming it is raising "obstacles" to efforts to secure a safe environment in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Arrested soldiers who participated in the 2016 attempted coup d'etat in Turkey, are accompany by Turkish soldiers as they arrive at the court inside of the Sincan Prison before trial in Ankara, Turkey, 01 August 2017. Photo: EPA/TUMAY BERKIN

A probe has been launched into Republican People's Party (CHP) lawmaker Ali Mahir Başarır over his remarks regarding the Turkish army, the chief public prosecutor's office in Ankara announced on Nov. 30.

"The army was sold," Başarır said on private broadcaster Habertürk on Nov. 28, criticizing the government over the privatization of a national tank factory.

Turkey's defense industry body on Aug. 11 said Ankara was determined to continue its policies to ensure that the Turkish defense industry operates fully independently.

Turkey has launched Operation Claw-Tiger against terrorists in northern Iraq, the National Defense Ministry announced early on June 17.