Three PKK fighters killed in Iraq strike blamed on Turkey
by AFP Staff Writers
Arbil, Iraq (AFP) Feb 6, 2025

Drone strikes killed a Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) commander and two fighters in northern Iraq on Thursday, Kurdish authorities said, blaming Turkey for the attack.

Turkey often carries out ground and air operations in northern Iraq against the PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency against Ankara.

Turkish drones "struck between 10:45 and 11:00 am (0745 and 0800 GMT) two cars and a hideout of the PKK", said the counterterrorism services of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region.

The strikes "killed a military commander and two other PKK fighters" in the Mawat area in the northen Sulaimaniyah province, it said, adding two other fighters were missing.

The PKK, designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey and its Western allies, holds positions in Iraq's Kurdistan region, where Turkey also maintains military bases.

During a January visit to Baghdad, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called for regional efforts to combat the PKK in Iraq, as well as Kurdish fighters in neighbouring Syria, whom Ankara accuses of having links to the outlawed group.

Baghdad has recently sharpened its tone against the PKK, quietly listing it as a "banned organisation" last year.

But Ankara wants Iraq to go further and officially declare it a terrorist group.

In August, Baghdad and Ankara signed a military cooperation deal to establish joint command and training centres with the aim of fighting the PKK.

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