Iraq’s northern regions controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) obtain a sense of normalcy as the terrorist group PKK is forced to withdraw from areas it occupied amid intensifying Turkish strikes.

The region has been gripped by the presence of the group that used it as a launchpad for attacks targeting Türkiye for decades. The PKK’s leadership still hides out in a mountainous area there while the group receives support from an Iraqi Kurdish party. Still, KRG’s improved relations with Ankara and a new era in ties between Türkiye and Iraq’s central government spelled trouble for the PKK.

Operations in recent years against the group have been a sigh of relief for the local population intimidated and threatened by the group. Just as Türkiye’s southeast, which once was in the grips of the PKK threat, several KRG-controlled areas enjoy a terror-free period nowadays. This is best reflected in new infrastructure projects that are possible in a climate of safety. Bulldozers scramble to flatten the ground to pave the way for improvement on the grid in areas once swarmed with PKK members.

The PKK has been a constant threat to the KRG’s Peshmerga forces as well as civilians and has occupied hundreds of villages, dealing a blow to agriculture, the main livelihood of the population. Turkish offensives reduced the PKK's presence in the region, for instance, in Sheladiz, a small district in Duhok province. Some 85 out of 92 villages near Sheladiz are still occupied by the PKK, while the central district is now terror-free.

The district, with a population of about 50,000 people, is a favorite destination for Iraqis from the south in the summer. Summer tourism provides a major income for locals. The PKK’s presence hindered the sector benefiting from the magnificent scenery and cool weather in the summer. Türkiye’s counterterrorism operations minimized the group’s activities. Rizgar Ubaid, a local administrator, told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Monday that KRG was diverting more importance to Sheladiz after the PKK was rendered ineffective in most places.

Ubaid noted that a project to improve the banks of the Great Zab River, or Zey Badinan as it is known in Kurdish, was gaining momentum. "It will revive tourism in the region and, in turn, will create jobs for hundreds of young people here. Sheladiz will be an important tourism destination," Ubaid says. "We have peace here now, and with it comes new projects. I believe a similar revival will be witnessed in villages that were inaccessible in the past (due to the PKK threat)," Ubaid stated. Darvish Rashed, director of the project, says the work would cover an area of 30,000 square meters and provide a "facelift" to the district.

Fahd Shukri, a local, said people were afraid of visiting Sheladiz because of the PKK, but they were seeing more tourists nowadays.