Turkey has launched Operation Claw-Tiger against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, the National Defense Ministry announced early Wednesday, Anadolu Agency reported.

The ministry said on Twitter that Turkish commando forces are already in Iraq’s Haftanin region, adding the operation is taking place in order to “neutralize the PKK and other terrorist elements that threaten the security of Turkish people and borders.”

Turkish commandos supported by the Air Force, ATAK helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, and unmanned combat aerial vehicles have entered the region.

The joint command of the Iraqi Armed Forces has condemned the Turkish airstrikes as a violation of Iraq's sovereignty. And the Iraqi Foreign Ministry handed a note of protest to the Turkish ambassador to Iraq.