Turkey, Iraq to target several PKK camps in Sinjar, Makhmour

The Turkish-Iraqi joint counterterrorism operation will reportedly be launched to exterminate seven PKK camps in Sinjar and another one near Makhmour.

According to a report in the HaberTürk daily yesterday, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) will launch an operation against seven camps in Iraq's Sinjar area and a camp 6 kilometers away from the PKK's Makhmour camp, which is one of the most important logistic centers of the terrorist organization. Thus, it was pointed out in the report that this operation will seek to efface all the PKK's logistical passages.

The recent diplomatic traffic between Ankara and Baghdad reportedly indicates that a common intelligence pool has been established and information flow on the mobility of the region has been shared in this pool. The necessary intelligence information is being updated every day about the Sinjar Mountains and its foothills on the Syria-Iraq borderline where 12 PKK camps are located.Furthermore, Baghdad warned the PKK twice about their withdrawal from the Sinjar and Makhmour regions and warnings will continue until May, according to the report. It is also stated that a delegation from Baghdad will go to Sinjar next week and warn the PKK once more about the withdrawal.

In respect to the issue, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım announced the possible cooperation between Iraq and Turkey last week. "The operations are carried out whenever they are needed in North Iraq. In the near future, we will have cooperation on the destruction of the PKK with Iraq. We are in contact with Iraq about the PKK operations," he said.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has also said that after the elections are held in Iraq and Operation Olive Branch is completed, a joint operation might be launched. "Both Syria and Iraq need to be cleared of all terrorist groups. Otherwise, the political steps that will be taken regarding a political solution would fail," Çavuşoğlu said.

Underlining that Iraq has achieved essential achievements against Daesh with international support, Çavuşoğlu said, "However, during this period the PKK infiltrated into cities from Qandil and other mountains." He added that both the Iraqi central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) would not feel secure because of the existence of terrorist groups within Iraq.

In mid-2014, the PKK managed to establish a foothold in Sinjar on the pretext that it was "protecting" the local Yazidi community from Daesh. Last week, the Mosul local council gave the PKK terrorists a 10-day ultimatum to leave northern Iraq's Sinjar district, according to the council chairman.