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Putin offers condolences to Erdogan over death of Turkish citizens in Iraq

On Sunday, Turkey carried out a military operation against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, "neutralizing 48 PKK fighters" and losing several troops

MOSCOW, February 18. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed condolences to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the death of Turkish citizens in Iraq, the Kremlin press service said in a statement on Thursday following a telephone conversation between the two leaders.

"The Russian president expressed condolences to the Turkish leader over the recent tragic death of 13 Turkish citizens in Iraq," the statement reads.

On Sunday, Turkey carried out a military operation against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, "neutralizing 48 PKK fighters" and losing several troops. Media outlets also reported the death of 13 Turkish citizens.

The Turkish army regularly carries out attacks on PKK targets in Iraq, where the Kurdistan Workers’ Party has camps, command posts and weapons depots. Ankara considers the PKK as the main threat to Turkey’s national security.

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