Ankara Calls On Iraq To Help In Fight Against PKK

Fakhir Rizvi Published December 16, 2018 | 12:09 AM

Turkey on Saturday called on Baghdad to help it fight the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), invoking its right to self-defence to justify an incursion into Iraq.

Ankara, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Dec, 2018 ) :Turkey on Saturday called on Baghdad to help it fight the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), invoking its right to self-defence to justify an incursion into Iraq.

"Turkey assumes all its responsibilities in the fight against terrorism" and supported Iraq in this regard, said a foreign ministry statement, which said Ankara expected the same from Baghdad.

Turkey's defence ministry on Thursday said it had carried out airstrikes against PKK positions in northern Iraq, hitting tunnels and shelters in the Sinjar and Mount Karajak regions.

The PKK has waged a three-and-a-half decade insurgency against the Turkish state seeking independence, and more recently autonomy, for Turkey's Kurdish minority, that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.