The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) has eliminated nine PKK terrorists in northern Iraq, the Defense Ministry said Monday.
Turkish airstrikes targeted terrorist lairs in Hakurk, Gara and Metina regions of northern Iraq between Dec. 3-9, the ministry said in a statement.
“Türkiye is determined to eradicate terrorism at its roots,” it added.
According to Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, Türkiye’s counterterrorism operations have eliminated 2,939 terrorists since the beginning of 2024.
In recent years, Türkiye has stepped up domestic operations and efforts across its borders against the terrorist group and convinced a substantial number of members to abandon the PKK.
The PKK, which has massacred over 40,000 people in Türkiye in a four-decadelong terror campaign, is not designated a terrorist organization in Iraq but is banned from launching operations against Türkiye from Iraqi territory.
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 uses a stronghold in the Qandil Mountains, located roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of the Turkish border in Irbil.
The PKK also occupies Sinjar, Makhmour and has a foothold in Sulaymaniyah, which sits in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous north controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), where the central Iraqi government has little influence.
Türkiye often criticizes the PKK’s gaining footing in Sulaymaniyah and warns that “further measures” would be taken if the city’s administration continues to tolerate terrorists.
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.
As a result, Baghdad labeled the group a banned organization in March and set up two military bases in the Zakho region in April.
