The military incursion also involves ground troops. On Tuesday evening the Turkish Defense Ministry announced the start of "Operation Tiger Claw" with the following statement: "In order to neutralize the elements of the 'Kurdistan Workers Party' (PKK) and other terrorist elements that threaten the security of our people and our borders, victory has reached the heroes of the commando units who are currently in the Haftanin area."

Iraq's Ministry of Foreign Affairs - outraged at yet another violation of Iraqi sovereignty - promptly summoned the Turkish ambassador to Baghdad and lodged a memorandum of protest.

The Erdogan government, meanwhile, has claimed it's acting in 'defense' after PKK insurgents have launched repeat attacks from Iraqi and Syrian soil over the past years. 

Multiple reports suggest that this particular operation is unprecedented in its scale: