The Turkish Foreign Ministry has called on the Iraqi government and authorities in the northern Kurdish region to officially recognize the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) as a terrorist organization. This statement follows a recent drone attack in northern Iraq, which killed three members of the counter-terrorism service and injured three others. While Turkey did not claim responsibility for the attack, Iraq asserted that the drone crossed the border from Turkey, labeling it an “aggression” and a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.
Sulaymaniyah, where the attack occurred, is part of Iraq’s Kurdish region and is under the control of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), one of the two main parties with significant influence in the area. Turkey has long accused the PUK of supporting the PKK and the People’s Protection Units (YPG), a Syrian Kurdish militia that Turkey regards as an extension of the PKK.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry’s statement suggested that PUK’s anti-terrorist group had been conducting a training exercise alongside PKK/YPG members during the explosion, revealing what Turkey perceives as cooperation between the PUK’s security apparatus and members of the PKK.
Turkey has called upon both the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government to designate the PKK and its affiliates as terrorist organizations and to take concrete measures to combat terrorism.
