Ankara, Tehran Hold Joint Operation Against Kurdish Militias - Turkish Interior Ministry

Ankara and Tehran carried out a joint operation against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on Monday, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th March, 2019) Ankara and Tehran carried out a joint operation against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on Monday, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said.

"Turkey and Iran held a joint operation against PKK terrorists today at 8:00 a.m. [5:00 GMT]," Soylu said in an interview with the TRT broadcaster.

The statement comes after Soylu announced in early March that Turkey and Iran, which also has a significant Kurdish population, were preparing for joint activities against the PKK, which is considered by Ankara to be a terrorist organization.

The Turkish government has been fighting the PKK, which seeks to establish a Kurdish autonomy in Turkey, since the early 1980s. The PKK and Ankara agreed on a ceasefire in 2013, but it collapsed just two years later after a number of terror attacks allegedly committed by PKK militants.

Turkish security forces carry out regular anti-PKK raids across the country and conduct airstrikes against the group in northern Iraq. According to the Turkish authorities, over 10,000 PKK members have been neutralized since 2015.