The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) does not approve of the use of its territory to carry out cross-border attacks on neighboring countries, Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said, expressing determination to prevent PKK terrorist attacks, which pose a direct threat to Turkey's national security. Barzani's comments come just a few days after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi made a similar statement, saying his country will not allow the PKK to carry out cross-border attacks on Turkey.

According to reports, Barzani said the reason behind Turkey's planned operation into KRG-held territory Sinjar, where the PKK militants are located, is due to the fact that it is threatened by the PKK.

"We [The KRG] do not accept our territory to be used as a means to carry out cross-border attacks on our neighbors and threaten their security," Barzani told a news conference following a cabinet meeting.

He noted that this applies to all neighbors, including Iran, Syria and Turkey and that they have told the PKK many times that it is not acceptable for them to carry out attacks and return.

In mid-2014, the PKK managed to establish a foothold in Sinjar on the pretext that it was protecting the local Yazidi community from Daesh.

Ankara has been highly vocal in its criticism of the PKK's foothold in Sinjar, as the terrorists' position on the Turkish border poses a significant threat to the country.

The globally-recognized terrorist group announced its withdrawal from the northwestern province, as Turkey expressed its determination to expand the scope of Operation Olive Branch in Syria's northwestern Afrin to northern Iraq.