Türkiye's intelligence head met several Iraqi, Turkmen, Sunni and Shiite officials during a visit to Iraq, security sources said Tuesday.
Ibrahim Kalın, the head of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), discussed counterterrorism, the threat of the PKK and joint steps to be taken against the terrorist group in meetings with Iraq's President Abdul Latif, Prime Minister Mohammed S. Al Sudani, and representatives of Shiite, Sunni and Turkmen groups in Iraq, sources said on condition of anonymity.
The discussions also involved economic and security cooperation, particularly in the fight against Daesh terrorists and the development of road projects, as well as the war in Gaza and its reflections on Iraq and regional actors.
Tensions have been rising between Türkiye and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), one of the dominant parties in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of northern Iraq, since the terrorist group PKK has increased its attacks on Turkish troops.
After the PKK killed 21 Turkish soldiers in the Metina region within a month, Ankara intensified airstrikes on PKK targets and hideouts across its border, particularly in Sulaymaniyah.
The PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, Britain and the European Union – is responsible for over 40,000 civilian and security personnel deaths in Türkiye during an almost four-decadelong campaign of terror.
Since Turkish operations have driven its domestic presence to near extinction, the PKK has moved a large chunk of its operations to northern Iraq.
Ankara maintains dozens of military bases there, and it regularly launches operations against the PKK, which operates a stronghold in the Qandil Mountains, located roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of the Turkish border in Irbil province, although the area is under de jure control of the KRG.
Türkiye recently accused the PUK of links to the terrorist group in the city as Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned last week the country would "not hesitate to take further measures if the PUK refuses to change its supportive stance of the PKK despite Ankara's steps toward Sulaymaniyah."
Türkiye's military involvement in northern Iraq dates back over two decades, separately from its operations against the PKK, and also included the war against Daesh, which controlled much of the area, in 2014 and 2015, when Ankara was an ally in the U.S.-led anti-Daesh campaign.
The terrorist group has been more active in Syria after a civil war broke out more than a decade ago.
In the last few years, Ankara's intensifying operations in northern Iraq have demolished terrorist lairs in the Metina, Avashin-Basyan, Zap, and Gara districts. Still, Baghdad has yet to recognize the PKK as a terrorist group officially, and Turkish strikes remain a prickling issue between the neighbors.
Turkish officials have repeatedly urged Iraq, as well as the KRG, to recognize the PKK, stressing that the group, which occupies Sinjar, Makhmour, Qandil and Sulaymaniyah, threatens the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq.
Ankara has also expressed readiness to collaborate with Baghdad against both the PKK and Daesh.
Both MIT and the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) regularly conduct cross-border operations in these regions, particularly in northern Iraq, where the PKK terrorists have hideouts and bases from which they carry out attacks against Türkiye.
