Türkiye is in coordination with Iraq regarding the downing of Turkish-made UCAV Aksungur in Kirkuk, Foreign Ministry spokesman Öncü Keçeli said Thursday.
Keçeli said the Foreign Ministry has been in contact with Iraqi counterparts to shed light on the incident.
He reiterated Ankara's determination in the counterterrorism fight, saying that the two countries have a mutual will in this regard.
Earlier on Thursday, an Iraqi military official confirmed that Aksungur, a domestically produced medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), was downed by the Iraqi military near the oil-rich city of Kirkuk.
The two countries share a lengthy border, which has been a crossing point into Türkiye for the PKK terrorist group. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Iraq on April 22 marked a turning point in Ankara-Baghdad relations, particularly in the fight against the terrorist group PKK holed up in Iraq.
The neighbors have, in recent years, been at loggerheads over Ankara's cross-border military operations against the PKK based in northern Iraq's mountainous region, which is controlled by the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Iraq has said the operations are a violation of its sovereignty, but Ankara says they are needed to protect itself.
In its 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, infants and the elderly.
Since Turkish operations have driven its domestic presence to near extinction, the PKK has moved a large chunk of its operations to a stronghold in the Qandil Mountains, located roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of the Turkish border in Irbil. It’s not designated a terrorist organization in Iraq but is banned from launching operations against Türkiye from Iraqi territory.
Ankara maintains dozens of military bases there, and it regularly launches operations against the PKK.
