The operation targeted a 75 by 25 kilometer area on the Gare mountain, a transit area for PKK fighters to cross from Iraq to Turkey[11] about 50 kilometers northeast of Duhok city.[2] The Turkish Air Force, using fighter jets and attack helicopters, launched airstrikes at 02:55 and claimed to have simultaneously destroyed more than 50 PKK targets in the area which encompasses 6 villages, including air raid shelters, ammunition depots, and headquarters.[3] A local mayor disputed this claim and claimed that the airstrikes only damaged vineyards and other agricultural fields.[1] Civilians, mostly farmers, from the affected villages all left before the airstrikes while many animals were left behind.[12]