Türkiye and Iraq are getting closer to resolving the issue of the PKK amid high-level talks between Ankara and Baghdad. A Defense Ministry official told reporters in the capital, Ankara, on Thursday that Türkiye's offer to set up a joint operation center with Iraq against the terrorist group received a positive response. The center was proposed by the Turkish delegation, which was comprised of foreign and defense ministers and an intelligence chief who held talks in Baghdad last week.
Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Director İbrahim Kalın made a rare visit to Iraq shortly after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signaled a cross-border operation against the PKK.
"Iraq also views (the PKK) as a threat to itself. They have approached our offer positively to set up a joint operation center and to cooperate in the fight against terrorism," the official told reporters. During last week's meeting, the two sides also discussed preparations for a planned visit by President Erdoğan to Baghdad, which is expected to take place after the holy month of Ramadan, which ends in April. The official said Ankara wants the joint operation center included in a broader strategic document that Erdoğan intends to sign during the visit.
The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union, launched a bloody campaign of terrorism in the 1980s, targeting Turkish security forces and civilians, primarily in the southeastern Türkiye, close to the border with Iraq. More than 40,000 people were killed in the acts of terrorism while the PKK leadership retains a swath of territory in Iraq's north, where they have hideouts. Türkiye has conducted years of cross-border military operations against terrorists in Iraq and Syria. The PKK, under the name of YPG, also controls parts of northern Syria, right across the Turkish border.
Defense Minister Yaşar Güler said on Wednesday that Türkiye expects to permanently solve security issues posed by the PKK terrorists and their offshoots. Noting that his trip to Baghdad was positive, Güler said Türkiye has been fighting the PKK for the past four decades with no cooperation from Iraq. He said that Iraqi governments have not even classified the PKK as a terrorist group; Güler said the talks were productive as Iraq ended up declaring the PKK as an outlawed group.
"Hopefully, we will have more joint work with them from now on. We will establish a joint operations center," he said, adding that the local administration in Irbil viewed it positively. Türkiye and Iraq will also establish commissions in the fields of energy, agriculture and more to enhance cooperation further, according to the defense minister. Last week, Türkiye and Iraq agreed to establish a joint committee to work on counterterrorism during talks between their top officials in Baghdad.
Türkiye has since 2019 conducted a series of cross-border operations in northern Iraq against the PKK, dubbed "Claw," the latest of which is the ongoing "Claw-Lock" launched in April 2022. It was preceded by Operations Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle, launched in 2020 to root out terrorists hiding out in areas close to the Turkish border.
The Defense Ministry official said on Thursday that Türkiye eliminated threats within up to 40 kilometers (25 miles) of its borders, and its strategy focused on staving off terrorism threats from its borders. The PKK staged a major terrorist attack last year outside a government building in the capital, Ankara. Luckily, the bomb attack that followed gunfire by PKK terrorists did not claim any victims. Yet, the PKK's attacks on Turkish military outposts in rugged territory in northern Iraq over the past few months killed more than a dozen Turkish soldiers. The official said their talks with Iraq did not merely involve security and counterterrorism but also economic cooperation, highlighting that security and prosperity support each other. "The recent PKK attacks concentrated on the outskirts of Operation Claw-Lock area. Once Türkiye clears a small area of the PKK, our borders will be secure. The PKK's escalated attacks (against Turkish troops in Iraq) indicate that the terrorist group is in its death throes," the official said.
Brig. Adm. Zeki Aktürk, press adviser of the ministry, told a press briefing on Thursday that 26 terrorists were eliminated in Iraq and northern Syria within the last week. Since Jan. 1, 608 terrorists were eliminated by Turkish security forces in Iraq and Syria. Aktürk also stated that air strikes in recent days destroyed 39 targets in Iraq's north, mostly caves used as hideouts by "senior" terrorists. Aktürk said Operation Claw-Lock eliminated 854 terrorists and led to the confiscation and demolition of 2,650 pieces of landmines/explosives.
