The head of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), Ibrahim Kalın, was in Baghdad on Tuesday, where he held talks with top officials, including the Iraqi president and prime minister. His visit focused on the terror-free Türkiye initiative and border security. Turkish intelligence oversees the disarmament of the terrorist group PKK, which is the backbone of the initiative launched by a government ally last year.
During Kalın’s talks, Iraqi officials expressed full support for the initiative, according to security sources. The PKK has hideouts in Northern Iraq, in a region controlled by Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Kalın had earlier visited the KRG seat Irbil, again, to discuss the terror-free Türkiye initiative, before an unprecedented visit to Turkish military units deployed on the border with Iraq. Kalın and Iraqi officials discussed joint steps to eliminate terrorism in the wider region, sources said on Wednesday.
Kalın separately met Prime Minister Muhammad S. Al Sudani and President Abdul Latif Rashid. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein was present at Kalın’s meeting with Al Sudani. He later held talks with the Iraqi defense minister, head of the national intelligence service, as well as the Iraqi parliamentary speaker and Khamis al-Khanjar, Iraqi Sovereignty Alliance leader. Talks also touched upon cooperation for regional peace and stability and bilateral relations, as well as the conflict between Iran and Israel and the subsequent cease-fire. Separately, Kalın met the leader of the Iraqi Turkmen Front, M. Seman Ağaoğlu, and discussed the security situation in regions where the community lived.
