This is the moment one of the Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drones sets off on a mission to northern Iraq where it targets alleged terrorists, apparently killing two.
Turkey claimed that the drone seen taking off here was one of those taking part in operation Claw-Lock, and that two terrorists were killed as a result of the huge explosion.
Operation Claw-Lock is a military offensive by the Turkish army against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Northern Iraq.
The operation is taking place in the Duhok Governorate as part of the ongoing Kurdish–Turkish conflict this has been happening since the early 1980s.
In 2019 Turkey ramped up the operations codenamed Claw, with the latest operation Claw-Lock now taking place to stop what they warned could be a PKK offensive.
Airstrikes have been used to target caves, tunnels and suspected ammunition depots controlled by the PKK while Turkish Special Forces entered the region by land or were airlifted by helicopters.
The Ministry of Defense of Turkey said in a statement obtained by Newsflash on 20th December: “Our Turkish Armed Forces continue the fight against terrorists effectively and decisively. Two PKK terrorists were neutralized in the region of the Claw-Lock Operation, which continued successfully in northern Iraq.”
The Bayraktar TB2, which is a long-endurance unmanned combat aerial vehicle, is manufactured by the Turkish company Baykar Makina Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. primarily for the Turkish Armed Forces.
But they have also been used to devastating effect in Ukraine since the Russian invasion of the country earlier in the year.