Türkiye condemns the PKK terror attack on Iraqi security forces in the country’s northern Sinjar region, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, wishing the wounded a quick recovery.
“The mentioned attack once again displayed the dimensions of threat created by the PKK terrorist organization and its wings on Iraq’s national security,” the ministry said on social media.
It underlined that Türkiye “is decisive in pursuing the fight against the PKK and its wings in cooperation with Iraq.”
PKK violence was initially raging in rural regions of southeastern Türkiye, but the terrorists have moved a large chunk of operations to northern Iraq since 2019 after successive Turkish operations. Ankara maintains dozens of military bases there and regularly targets the PKK.
Türkiye’s cross-border operations into northern Iraq have been a source of tension with its southeastern neighbor for years. Ankara wants Baghdad’s cooperation in eliminating the terrorist group “at its roots” and preventing the formation of a terror corridor along its borders.
In March, following a visit to Iraq by top Turkish officials, federal authorities in Baghdad classed the PKK as a “banned organization” and relations took a positive turn with a new agenda.
By mid-August, Baghdad and Ankara had signed a military cooperation deal to establish joint command and training centers with the aim of fighting the PKK.
Türkiye, however, wants Iraq to recognize the PKK as a terrorist group fully.
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