Defense Ministry sources said Thursday that Iraq border guards are securing the border with Türkiye to thwart activities of the PKK terrorist group. The sources also said the effort was the result of the launch of dialogue with Iraq.
Iraqi media outlets reported last month that two military bases were set up in the village of Kshani in the country’s Zakho region, a region affected by the presence of the PKK. Media reports say it is the first deployment of troops to the region in the past three decades.
Prior to that, Ankara announced that Türkiye was prepared to provide Iraq with technical assistance for securing its borders to prevent the mobility of PKK around the region.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Baghdad and Irbil recently as Ankara ramped up cross-border operations against PKK members based in mountainous northern Iraq, ruled by the semi-autonomous Kurdish Regional Government (KRG). During the visit, the two countries agreed to a strategic framework agreement overseeing security, trade, energy and a defense cooperation deal.
Turkish sources said Iraqi border guards were deployed in areas neighboring the Turkish army’s areas of operations and were in coordination with the Turkish Defense Ministry.
"Türkiye will continue to coordinate efforts with Iraq to prevent activities of the PKK, maintain border security and preserve the safety of Iraqi civilians living in the region," the sources said.
Earlier, the ministry’s press and public relations adviser Brig. Adm. Zeki Aktürk told reporters at a news conference in the capital Ankara that counterterrorism operations in Iraq and Syria during the past week eliminated 43 terrorists. Aktürk said their resolute counterterrorism efforts prevailed and the army’s operations were the outcome of a strategy to wipe out terrorism at its source. Aktürk said since Jan. 1, 845 terrorists have been eliminated, including 376 in Iraq’s north and 469 in northern Syria. He said authorities also intercepted nine terrorists attempting to cross into Türkiye from other countries in the past week.
The PKK, which launched a campaign of terrorism in Türkiye in the 1980s, is designated a terrorist organization by Ankara and its Western allies.
Since Turkish operations have driven its domestic presence to near extinction, the PKK has moved a large chunk of its operations to northern Iraq, including a stronghold in the Qandil Mountains, located roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of the Turkish border in Irbil.
Türkiye has, over the past 25 years, operated several dozen military bases in northern Iraq in its war against the PKK, as well as the war against Daesh, which controlled much of the area, in 2014 and 2015, when Ankara was an ally in the U.S.-led anti-Daesh campaign.
Ankara launched Operation Claw-Lock in April 2022, the latest in the string of cross-border "Claw" offensives kicked off in 2019, to demolish terrorist lairs across Metina, Avashin-Basyan, Zap and Gara districts and prevent the formation of a terror corridor along Turkish borders. The PKK carried out attacks, killing more than a dozen Turkish soldiers in the past two months in Metina. The high toll led to an increase in Turkish operations, which sometimes take place deep into Iraqi territory.
The operations have regularly strained bilateral ties, but officials have repeatedly assured Türkiye's respect of Iraq's sovereignty and commitment to only targeting terrorists.