The struggle in Zap was the first in Kurdish martial history to have fought in the same trenches for 9 months, said Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) co-founder Murat Karayılan on Monday.

The top commander spoke to the Kurdish fighters via radiotelephone evaluating their efforts against the Turkish army in the Zap Valley of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).

The People’s Defence Centre (HSM) Headquarters Commander Murat Karayılan stated that the Kurdish fighter’s war tactic was the first in martial history to see Kurdish forces in the same trenches for 9 months.

“This resistance hindered the intentions of the Turkish army. If the army had not been stopped in the Zap since 2021, they would have taken every place in the Middle East,” said Karayılan.

Karayılan also added that the Turkish army moved its forces from Zap to Avaşîn, another region in the KRI, and claimed that the army uses banned chemical weapons almost every day in the area.

“Their goal is not to be disgraced once again after Zap, which is why they are attacking so intensely,” he said, stressing that although the Turkish army named the operation “Claw-Lock” it was the Turkish army that had been locked in Zap.

Turkish National Defence Minister Hulusi Akar earlier announced the end of the operation which had aimed to clear Zap of PKK fighters, on 2 January adding that their ultimate aim was to establish permanent bases in Zap and Avaşin.