Around the same time, the Turkish army announced the elimination of 13 PKK terrorists in Iraq’s north, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was in the capital, Baghdad, where he held talks with his counterpart Fuad Hussein. At a news conference with Hussein, ahead of a planned meeting with the Iraqi PM, Fidan said the countries should use all their resources to eliminate terrorist groups Daesh and PKK in the region.
Fidan’s visit took place amid repeated calls from Ankara to the YPG, the Syria wing of the PKK, which occupies parts of northeastern Syria, to disband itself in the wake of the fall of the Bashar Assad regime last December. The minister has warned earlier that a new cross-border offensive by the Turkish army may be considered if the group fails to heed their call. During the Syrian civil war, Türkiye helped the Syrian opposition to liberate parts of northern Syria from occupation by Daesh and the U.S.-backed YPG. The YPG/PKK seeks to legitimize its presence in Syria, though it includes many foreign fighters in its ranks and enjoys support from the U.S. under the guise of fighting against Daesh.
The PKK’s main wing is hiding out in mountainous regions in Iraq’s north, particularly the notorious Qandil, which is located in an area controlled by Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
Speaking alongside his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein, Fidan said he had reiterated Türkiye’s expectation for Iraq to formally label the PKK a terrorist group after Baghdad recognized it as a “banned organization” last year. “I want to emphasize this fact in the strongest terms: the PKK is targeting Türkiye, Iraq and Syria. For the future of our region and the prosperity of our people, we must mount a joint fight against terror,” he said. “We must destroy Daesh and the PKK with all our resources,” Fidan added. He said that he had discussed possible cooperation mechanisms on intelligence and operational matters, as well as the involvement of regional countries, against Daesh during his visit.
Ties between the neighbors have been rocky in recent years due to Ankara’s cross-border operations. However, relations have improved, with Iraq calling the PKK a banned organization and the start of high-level security talks.
Since Assad’s toppling by an administration friendly toward Ankara, the YPG/PKK has been on the back foot and negotiators from the Syrian leadership, U.S., Türkiye and the YPG have been zeroing in on a potential deal on the group’s fate, according to unconfirmed reports. Minister Fuad Hussein said on Thursday that Türkiye attacking “Kurdish forces in Syria’s north would be dangerous and create more refugees.” in reference to a potential operation against the YPG/PKK, which brands itself an ethnic Kurdish group.
At Sunday’s news conference, Hussein said Türkiye and Iraq had agreed on their stance about the new situation in Syria. “We are in touch with the new administration in Damascus and working to establish coordination,” the Iraqi minister said. Hussein said they discussed with Fidan the border security and the fight against Daesh, adding that talks between the two countries on counterterrorism would prevail.
For his part, Fidan said Türkiye’s prosperity would advance “as much as Iraq becomes stronger and richer.” “Peace in our region will be expanded when Iraq is more stable, more secure. We endorse steps to ensure this and contribute to processes Iraq spearheads to contribute to the region,” Fidan said. He noted that the Development Road was one such project and offered a win-win approach for regional countries. “We hope to see concrete results regarding the project as soon as possible,” he said. The Development Road is a major trade route linking Iraq and Türkiye through railways, roads, ports and cities.
Spanning 1,200 kilometers (745 miles), the railway and highway will connect the Great Faw Port, which aims to become the largest port in the Middle East.
The Turkish minister said they extensively discussed the regional situation with Hussain, particularly the situation in Syria, adding that they attached importance to the fact that regional conflicts would not hurt Iraq’s stability and security. He said the Iraqi government was pursuing a constructive and balanced policy to prevent the spillover of issues in the region. “Having strong ties between Iraq and Syria will be beneficial both for them and for the region. As Türkiye, we are ready to do our part to ensure close relations between Iraq and the new administration in Syria,” he stated.
Ankara vowed on Saturday to work closely with Iraq to secure their common frontier after two Iraqi border guards were killed in a shooting blamed on the PKK. On Friday, Iraq’s Interior Ministry said the two Iraqi guards were killed near the Turkish border in an Iraqi region controlled by the KRG. “When the Iraqi border forces were carrying out their duties securing the Iraqi-Turkish border, they were fired at by terrorists from the banned PKK organization” in Zakho district, the ministry said. A third guard was wounded, it added. Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Öncü Keçeli said on X that “we are deeply saddened by the deaths of two border guards as a result of the attack carried out by the PKK terrorist group.” “It is clear that the PKK terrorist organization poses a threat to the national security of Türkiye and Iraq and violates Iraq’s sovereignty,” he said. “We will continue to fight together with Iraq against terrorism.”
Earlier this month, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hosted Masrour Barzani, prime minister of Iraq’s KRG, in Ankara. Barzani’s visit came at a time of a new phase in Türkiye’s fight against the PKK terrorist group, whose last remaining strongholds are located in an area controlled by the KRG in northern Iraq and northeastern Syria bordering Türkiye. Türkiye often carries out counterterrorism operations in northern Iraq against the PKK and saw escalating support from the KRG in recent years after past hostilities over perceived tolerance of the PKK in the region by previous administrations. Since last October, Türkiye has adopted a new stand in resolving terrorist threats. The terror-free initiative, as it is tentatively called, seeks a peaceful way to force the PKK to lay down arms. Ankara has allowed a PKK-linked political party to visit the group’s jailed leader, Abdullah Öcalan and Öcalan pledged support that he would contribute to this new process.
Erdoğan’s main ally, Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), initiated the process last year by urging the authorities to grant a temporary release for Öcalan in exchange for a call by Öcalan to terrorists to surrender their weapons. Ankara, however, has repeatedly expressed commitment to counterterrorism efforts, assuring the public that the terrorist group would not be allowed to thrive if it does not dissolve itself.
The KRG has expressed support for this new initiative. Masrour Barzani’s cousin, Nechirvan Barzani, the incumbent president of Iraq’s KRG, said in October, “Those who seek to undermine the peace process in Türkiye should not be allowed.” Speaking at the Middle East Research Institute (MERI) in Irbil at the time, Nechirvan Barzani said the PKK terrorist group also posed a significant problem for the KRG.
Erdoğan, earlier this month, said Türkiye would not hesitate to take action against terrorists posing a threat to its national security. Noting that Türkiye has shown its firm commitment to its survival and security time and again, Erdoğan told a news conference after a Cabinet meeting that the Turkish military may strike terrorist targets “suddenly, one night.”
Türkiye renewed its counterterrorism campaign in the past decade after a brief lull. In Iraq, it launched the Claw Sword operation in 2022 to eliminate terrorists hiding in mountainous regions of northern Iraq. The offensive continues with occasional precision strikes and “retaliation” strikes against terrorists opening harassment fire or trying to infiltrate into Türkiye to carry out attacks. Increased production of uncrewed aerial vehicles and bolstered capacity of a professional army helped Türkiye to achieve its counterterrorism targets.