Iraq

Turkey has neutralized more than 100 PKK terrorists in Operation Claw-Lock, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has said, following the killings of five Turkish soldiers in clashes with the terrorist organization in northern Iraq.

Dust clouds have covered the skies of southeastern provinces, while the visibility range has decreased due to the dust transportation from Syria.

Layers of dust coated vehicles and apartment balconies in the provinces of Şırnak, Bingöl, Mardin and Tunceli late on May 23.

Four Turkish soldiers have been killed and three wounded in clashes with PKK terrorists in the Operation Claw-Lock zone, the Turkish defense minister has said.

Naming the soldiers "brothers in arms," the Defense Ministry highlighted that four were "martyred" and three were "hospitalized" on May 24.

One person died in Iraq and more than 5,000 were treated in hospitals on May 5 for respiratory ailments due to a sandstorm, the seventh in a month, the Health Ministry said.

A British man arrested at Baghdad airport in late March in possession of pottery fragments that are alleged to be historical artifacts is being held in pre-trial detention, his family said on May 1.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog extended his wishes to Turks on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr in a phone conversation with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the presidential office has said.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has indicated that the cross-border Operation Claw-Lock that started on April 18 against the PKK targets in northern Iraq became a harsh blow to the terrorist organization.

"There are signs of downfall in terrorist organizations. There is fear and panic in terrorists," Akar said, speaking in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa on May 2.

With verses from love poems and flowing calligraphy, Jordan-based fashion designer Hana Sadiq stitches a testament to the beauty of Arab women.

Some 19 PKK terrorists have been neutralized in the regions of the Operation Olive Branch and Operation Peace Spring, the Turkish Defense Ministry has said.

Posting a tweet about the latest operations against the terror organization, the ministry said, "Sixteen in the Operation Olive Branch zone and three in the Operation Peace Spring have been neutralized."

Award-winning Anglo-American photographer Gary Knight told BIRN that the idea for the project, which also includes a book and a series of short films, came to him in 2003 on his return from Iraq, where he had been photographing the US invasion and wondering when the conditions for peace would be met in the Middle Eastern country.