Turkey to continue cross-border operations on Kurdish militants in Iraq: Erdogan

Ankara: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country will continue cross-border operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) until it is cleared from northern Iraq.

“Our operations in this region will continue until we have secured every inch of the mountains in northern Iraq, which are the source of terrorist acts,” Erdogan said at a press conference late Tuesday after a cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara.

A total of 114 targets were hit as part of Turkey’s air operations in Syria and Iraq, and a total of 78 “terrorists” were neutralised in the past five days, he said, referring to the country’s recent cross-border military campaign launched after nine Turkish soldiers were killed in northern Iraq by PKK militants on January 12.

Erdogan said that the attempts to “strengthen” the PKK by providing it with weapons, ammunition, training, and shelters have gained momentum, but he did not specify who is supporting the group.

“Our cross-border operations have also foiled plots aimed at dragging Turkey into internal turmoil through a wave of irregular migration,” the President added.

The Turkish leader also said that Ankara would take additional steps to fight terrorism in the coming months, regardless of “who says what or what threats they make”.

On Tuesday, the Turkish Parliament had passed a joint declaration against terrorism, stating “we declare to the whole world that Türkiye has the strength to fight determinedly against all terrorist groups at home and abroad”.

“We expect Parliaments of other countries and international organizations to take a clear, uncompromising stance against terror acts targeting Türkiye,” it said.

The Turkish security forces have intensified cross-border operations against the PKK in northern Iraq and against the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria, after the killing of the nine Turkish soldiers in northern Iraq.

The PKK militants often hide out in northern Iraq to plot cross-border attacks in Turkey, which sees the YPG as the Syrian branch of the PKK group.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and the European Union, has rebelled against the Ankara government for more than three decades.