Ankara Negotiating Anti-PKK Raids On Iraqi Territory With Tehran - Presidential Spokesman

Turkey has been holding talks with Iraq about the former carrying out operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is listed as a terrorist group by Ankara, on Iraqi territory, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Thursday.

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th August, 2018) Turkey has been holding talks with Iraq about the former carrying out operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is listed as a terrorist group by Ankara, on Iraqi territory, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Thursday.

On Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara had reached an agreement with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi on cooperation in combating PKK militants. On Wednesday, the Turkish general staff said that a senior PKK leader had been killed in the Iraqi town of Sinjar by the Turkish Armed Forces.

"When Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi visited Turkey [on Tuesday], the fight against terrorism was discussed in detail.

We have for some time been discussing operations not only in Sinjar but in Qandil, Makhmur and other areas, where terrorists have settled. We are fully determined to fight them," Kalin told reporters.

Turkey has been fighting PKK militants for almost 40 years and is currently conducting regular raids inside the country and carrying out airstrikes on the group in Iraq. The PKK's main base is reportedly located in the Qandil Mountains in Iraqi Kurdistan region.

While Iraqi Kurds have been granted an autonomy inside the country, the PKK is currently demanding the same for Turkish Kurds, who form the largest ethnic minority group in Turkey.