Turkiye and Iraq planning joint counterterrorism steps against PKK

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Iraq's foreign minister and other officials (R) meet with a visiting Turkish delegation headed by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (2-L)in Baghdad on March 14, 2024. (AFP)
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Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein (R) receives his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Baghdad on March 14, 2024. (AFP))
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Updated 16 March 2024
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Turkiye and Iraq planning joint counterterrorism steps against PKK

  • Landmark move comes as Baghdad seeks new ‘regional equilibrium’ to quell instability, analyst tells Arab News

BAGHDAD: Diplomatic activity between Ankara and Baghdad has surged this week, with senior Turkish officials making a high-level visit to the Iraqi capital on Thursday to discuss security, energy, and defense issues with their Iraqi counterparts.

The meetings, attended by key figures in Turkish foreign policy, defense, and intelligence agencies, centered not only on the reopening of oil transportation through the Turkish-Iraqi pipeline, but also on collaborative efforts to combat terrorism, particularly targeting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party or PKK.
“During the meetings, the importance of Iraq’s political unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity have been emphasized by both sides.
The parties have also underscored that the PKK poses a security threat to both Turkiye and Iraq, and its presence in Iraqi territory constitutes a violation of the Iraqi Constitution,” noted the joint official statement issued following Thursday’s meetings.

Baghdad has adopted a novel foreign policy approach with Iran, ultimately aiming to curtail foreign interference in Iraq.

Dr. Bilgay Duman Analyst

In the statement, Turkiye has also welcomed the decision by the Iraqi National Security Council declaring the PKK an outlawed organization in Iraq, and said “the parties have discussed measures to be taken against organizations and affiliates targeting Turkiye from Iraqi territories.”
Nuh Yilmaz, chief adviser of Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, posted on social media site X on Thursday night: “In the meetings held in Baghdad, Iraq and Turkiye decided to go beyond common threats and fight PKK terrorism together for the first time. A landmark decision. We’ll see the results gradually.”
Since early March, both Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Defense Minister Yasar Guler have hinted at the possibility of a summer cross-border military operation to bolster security along the Turkish-Iraqi border and fortify Turkish military points in the region.
Erdogan, who last visited Baghdad in 2012, is expected to make a trip to Iraq before the end of April.
Similarly, Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Oncu Keceli said on Wednesday: “The Iraqi authorities recognizing the PKK as a common security threat signals a growing willingness to combat the PKK within Iraq.”
Historically, Turkiye and Iraq have often clashed over the former’s intensified cross-border operations against PKK militants based in northern Iraq’s mountainous regions.
Iraq has protested, citing violations of its sovereignty, while Turkiye defended the operations as essential to safeguard its territorial integrity.
The talks on Thursday followed previous visits by Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin and Defense Minister Guler in January.
Additionally, last week, Kalin and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held high-level meetings in Washington with US officials, considering the presence of US troops in Iraq.
Experts speculate that such a military operation could serve the interests of the ruling Justice and Development Party, particularly ahead of local elections on March 31, as it may attract nationalist support.
Since December, at least 25 Turkish soldiers have been killed in attacks by PKK militants, prompting Turkiye to respond with airstrikes.
“This year, the Claw-Lock operation will be completed initially, and operations will be expanded to other necessary areas,” Guler said recently.
Dr. Bilgay Duman, coordinator of Iraq studies at the Ankara-based think tank ORSAM, said that Iraq is facing its most severe threat perception regarding the presence of the PKK within its borders.
“Due to the series of operations initiated by Ankara since 2019, the PKK has been compelled to shift from the northern mountainous regions to the southern areas of Iraq, resulting in the evacuation of about 800 villages in the north,” he said.
“This geographical relocation has forced the PKK to extend its reach to urban centers in Iraq, such as Sulaimaniyah, Kirkuk, and Sinjar, leading to engagements with officials from the central administration.”
Duman said that the Iraqi central administration was striving to establish a new regional equilibrium to quell the instability that has persisted for two decades.
“Baghdad has adopted a novel foreign policy approach with Iran, ultimately aiming to curtail foreign interference in Iraq,” he said.
Simultaneously, the Turkiye-Iraq Development Road Project has heralded a fresh chapter in bilateral relations between Ankara and Baghdad. Duman underscored the significance of this ambitious infrastructure venture, which aims to link Iraq and Turkiye through railways, ports, roads, and cities, fostering a new economic development paradigm in the region necessitating robust security measures.
“Security must be reinstated along the regions traversed by this project, prompting Baghdad to take proactive measures to reinforce its central administrative authority,” he said.
The project, slated for completion in three phases by 2028, 2033, and 2050, is anticipated to integrate Iraq into the global arena via Turkiye.
Regarding the imminent summer operation targeting PKK hideouts in Iraqi territories, Duman said that it would be a continuation of previous Turkish endeavors to eradicate PKK presence in the northern regions.
“Turkiye aims to establish a 30-40 km-deep security corridor along its borders, supplementing it with military installations in coordination with the Iraqi government,” he said.
“Given the impracticality of deploying soldiers along every point of the 378 km border with Iraq, Turkiye is likely to conduct sporadic operations, potentially in collaboration with Iraq, owing to shared threat perceptions.”
Duman said a joint operation room could even be established to ensure seamless military coordination.
Rich Outzen, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and the Jamestown Foundation, believes the possibility of a large operation from mid-spring through summer is very high.
“President Erdogan and others in Ankara have signaled a significant operation to disrupt PKK transport and supply routes — also referred to as ‘lines of communication’ in military parlance — that travel east-west from Qandil, through the Irbil area and out to Sinjar. Disrupting those lines requires moving off the mountain ridgelines along the border deeper into Iraq. That would be the immediate goal,” he told
Arab News.
According to Outzen, Irbil’s motives are clear: to re-establish security control in areas of the Kurdistan region of Iraq that the PKK has gradually asserted control over in recent years.
“For Baghdad, the motive might be to avoid confrontation with Ankara during the operations by participating and helping to shape or limit them,” he said.
“In the background, Baghdad is involved in a struggle for autonomy over foreign policy from Tehran, which exercises influence in numerous ways,” he said.
Outzen added: “Deepening cooperation with Turkiye is one way to develop a counterweight to Iranian influence, which has risen as US influence in Iraq has waned. Especially with talk of a possible withdrawal or further reduction in US troop levels in Iraq, Turkiye becomes a more attractive security partner.”
In the meantime, the burgeoning cooperation between Ankara and Baghdad in counterterrorism may exert pressure on the Iraqi Kurdish Patriotic Union of Kurdistan or PUK, which governs Sulaimaniyah province.
“Accused of backing the PKK, the PUK faces heightened scrutiny, compounded by Turkiye’s closure of its airspace at the Sulaimaniyah airport since April, exerting additional social strain on residents,” Duman said.
“The prospect of joint military operations between Turkiye and Iraq may further marginalize the PUK, potentially compelling the party to reassess its stance toward the PKK.”
From his part, Outzen noted that PUK and PKK are both known
for their close ties to Iranian security services.
“And Baghdad may have come to the conclusion that it’s time to pare back their ambitions in the north as well,” he said.

 


Syria’s new leader visits former Assad strongholds

Updated 7 sec ago
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Syria’s new leader visits former Assad strongholds

  • Latakia has seen reprisals against people seen as linked to the former government, though such incidents have also decreased recently, the Britain-based Observatory added

DAMASCUS: Syrian interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa visited Latakia and Tartus on Sunday, his office said, making his first official trip to the coastal provinces formerly known as strongholds of ousted ruler Bashar Assad.
Sharaa met with “dignitaries and notables” during his visit, the Syrian presidency said on Telegram.
It published images of Sharaa meeting with dozens of people, some apparently religious figures, in the two provinces’ capital cities.
Earlier Sunday, Latakia province’s official Telegram channel published footage showing thousands of people gathered in the city, some taking photos, as Sharaa’s convoy passed through.
Sharaa’s Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham led the rebel offensive that ousted Assad in December, and he was appointed interim president last month.
Assad’s hometown is located in Latakia, which along with neighboring Tartus is home to a large number of the country’s Alawite community, a branch of Shiite Islam to which Assad’s family belonged.
Assad had presented himself as a protector of minorities in multi-ethnic, multi-confessional Syria, but largely concentrated power in the hands of his fellow Alawites.
Latakia and Tartus are also home to Assad ally Russia’s only two military bases outside the former Soviet Union.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor, Latakia saw violence after Assad’s fall that has since eased somewhat, though occasional attacks are still carried out on checkpoints.
State news agency SANA, citing the interior ministry, said Sunday that a security patrol had been attacked in the province, wounding two patrol members and killing a woman.
Latakia has also seen reprisals against people seen as linked to the former government, though such incidents have also decreased recently, the Britain-based Observatory added.
Security operations have previously been announced in the province in pursuit of “remnants” of the ousted government’s forces.
Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said that “there are still thousands of officers from the former regime present in Latakia and who haven’t settled their status” with the new authorities.
Sharaa’s visit could be a message that there is “no possibility for the regime of Bashar Assad to move in Latakia or on the Syrian coast,” he told AFP.
Despite reassurances from Syria’s new authorities that minorities will be protected, members of the Alawite community in particular fear reprisals because of the minority’s link to the Assad clan.
Sharaa’s visit followed trips to Idlib, the rebels’ former bastion, and Aleppo a day earlier.
 

 


Israel security cabinet to discuss new phase of Gaza truce after Rubio visit

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Updated 9 min 43 sec ago
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Israel security cabinet to discuss new phase of Gaza truce after Rubio visit

  • Netanyahu’s office said he would convene a meeting of his security cabinet on Monday to discuss phase two
  • It said the prime minister was also dispatching negotiators to Cairo Monday to discuss the “continued implementation” of phase one

JERUSALEM: Israel’s security cabinet was set to discuss on Monday the next phase of the ceasefire in Gaza, after top US diplomat Marco Rubio and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu presented a united front on their approach to Hamas and Iran.
Rubio was in Israel on his first Middle East trip as President Donald Trump’s secretary of state.
“Hamas cannot continue as a military or a government force... they must be eliminated,” Rubio said of the Palestinian group that fought Israel for more than 15 months in Gaza until a fragile ceasefire took effect on January 19.
Standing beside him, Netanyahu said the two allies had “a common strategy,” and that “the gates of hell will be opened” if all hostages still held by militants in Gaza are not freed.
The comments came a day after Hamas freed three Israeli hostages in exchange for 369 Palestinian prisoners — the sixth such swap under the ceasefire deal, which the United States helped mediate along with Qatar and Egypt.
Israel and Hamas have traded accusations of ceasefire violations, and adding to strain on the deal is Trump’s widely condemned proposal to take control of rubble-strewn Gaza and relocate its more than two million residents.
“We discussed Trump’s bold vision for Gaza’s future and will work to ensure that vision becomes a reality,” Netanyahu said.
The scheme that Trump outlined earlier this month as Netanyahu visited Washington lacked details, but he said it would entail moving Gazans to Jordan or Egypt.
Trump has suggested the coastal territory could be redeveloped into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
Washington, Israel’s top ally and weapons supplier, says it is open to alternative proposals from Arab governments, but Rubio has said that for now, “the only plan is the Trump plan.”
However, Saudi Arabia and other Arab states have rejected his proposal, and instead favor — as does much of the international community — the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Sunday said establishment of a Palestinian state was “the only guarantee” of lasting Middle East peace.
Hamas and Israel are implementing the first, 42-day phase of the ceasefire, which nearly collapsed last week.
“At any moment the fighting could resume. We hope that the calm will continue and that Egypt will pressure Israel to prevent them from restarting the war and displacing people,” said Nasser Al-Astal, 62, a retired teacher in southern Gaza’s Khan Yunis.
Since the truce began last month, 19 Israeli hostages have been released in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Out of 251 people seized in Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which sparked the war, 70 remain in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military says are dead.
In a statement, Rubio condemned Hamas’s hostage-taking as “sick depravity” and called for the immediate release of all remaining captives, living and dead, particularly five Israeli-American dual nationals.
Negotiations on a second phase of the truce, aimed at securing a more lasting end to the war, could begin this week in Doha, a Hamas official and another source familiar with the talks have said.
Netanyahu’s office said he would convene a meeting of his security cabinet on Monday to discuss phase two.
It said the prime minister was also dispatching negotiators to Cairo Monday to discuss the “continued implementation” of phase one.
The team would “receive further directives for negotiations on Phase II” after the cabinet meeting, the office said.
The Gaza war triggered violent fallout throughout the Middle East, where Iran backs militant groups including in Yemen and Lebanon.
Israel fought a related war with Hamas’s Lebanese ally Hezbollah, severely weakening it.
There were also limited direct strikes by Iran and Israel against each other.
The October 7, 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,211 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,271 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.
On Sunday, Hamas said an Israeli air strike killed three police officers near south Gaza’s Rafah in what the militant group called a “serious violation” of the truce.
Israel said it had struck “several armed individuals” in south Gaza.
It is at least the second Israeli air strike in Gaza since the ceasefire began.


Shipment of ‘heavy’ US-made bombs arrives in Israel

Bunker Buster bombs staged 23 March in the hangar bay aboard USS Constellation. (AFP file photo)
Updated 16 February 2025
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Shipment of ‘heavy’ US-made bombs arrives in Israel

  • The war has devastated much of Gaza, resulting in the displacement of much of its 2.4 million population
  • In response to concerns over civilian deaths, former US President Joe Biden’s administration had blocked a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, but Trump reportedly approved them after taking office

JERUSALEM: Israel’s Defense Ministry said on Sunday that a shipment of “heavy” US-made bombs has arrived in Israel, as Marco Rubio began his first visit to the country as Washington’s top diplomat.
“A shipment of heavy aerial bombs recently released by the US government was received and unloaded overnight in Israel,” the ministry said in a statement, referring to MK-84 munitions recently authorized by President Donald Trump’s administration.
“The munitions shipment that arrived in Israel, released by the Trump administration, represents a significant asset for the air force and the military and serves as further evidence of the strong alliance” between Israel and the US, Defense Minister Israel Katz said in the statement.
The Trump administration had earlier in February approved the sale of more than $7.4 billion in bombs, missiles, and related equipment to Israel.
The sale “improves Israel’s capability to meet current and future threats, strengthen its homeland defense, and serves as a deterrent to regional threats,” the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency said at the time.
Israel launched a hugely destructive offensive against Hamas in Gaza in October 2023 in response to an attack by the Palestinian group that month.
The war has devastated much of Gaza, resulting in the displacement of much of its 2.4 million population.
A ceasefire has been in effect since Jan.19, providing for the release of hostages seized by Hamas.
In response to concerns over civilian deaths, former US President Joe Biden’s administration had blocked a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, but Trump reportedly approved them after taking office.
A former Israeli negotiator has said Israel missed two opportunities last year to secure a Gaza truce and hasten hostage releases, prompting a swift rebuttal from the premier’s office.
“In my view, we missed two opportunities to sign an agreement ... in March and July” last year, said Oren Setter, who resigned from the Israeli negotiating team in October, in remarks broadcast on Channel 12.
“We did not do everything we could to bring them back as quickly as possible.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been accused by opposition figures and some families of hostages of not doing enough to secure their release and torpedoing talks.
On Saturday, his office dismissed Setter’s remarks, stating that “his claims that an agreement could have been reached earlier are entirely baseless.”
“Had the prime minister not stood firm, at least half of the living hostages would not have been freed in the first phase” of an ongoing truce, the statement said.
“As repeatedly testified by senior US officials, Hamas refused to engage in negotiations for months and was the sole obstacle to a deal,” the statement added.
Setter clarified that he wanted to “speak about facts” and argued that the deaths of hostages in captivity and “unnecessary suffering” could have been avoided while still placing primary responsibility for last year’s negotiation deadlock on Hamas.

 


Extremist militias in Lebanon ‘part of history,’ says Druze leader

Walid Jumblatt delivers a speech during a gathering in Ain Zhalta on June 25, 2023. (AFP)
Updated 16 February 2025
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Extremist militias in Lebanon ‘part of history,’ says Druze leader

  • Walid Jumblatt calls for ‘stability to prevail’ and end to violence
  • Iran halts flights to Beirut after Lebanese authorities suspend Iranian permits

BEIRUT: Extremist militias in Lebanon have become part of history, Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt said on Sunday.

In a statement, the former Progressive Socialist Party leader also said that the situation in Lebanon “has changed due to political and military circumstances, as well as the Israeli aggression.”

He said: “We have also agreed to implement international resolutions.”

Jumblatt added: “No one opposes a political confrontation with Israel, but we have seen where the use of arms led us, despite Hezbollah’s significant sacrifices.”

FASTFACT

Lebanon’s army on Sunday urged residents against going to southern areas where its forces had not finished deploying under an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal, after Israeli gunfire killed a woman.

He added: “We do not want a segment of Lebanese society to be a tool in the hands of Iran. After all these wars, we have the right to see stability prevail.”

Jumblatt’s statement comes in the wake of a decision by Lebanese authorities to suspend Iranian flights to Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport until Feb. 18.

Hossein Pourfarzaneh, head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Authority, said that in light of “security issues” at Beirut airport, all flights to Lebanon have been canceled until Feb. 18 at the earliest.

Social media users on Sunday called for sit-ins on the airport road for the fourth consecutive day despite the Lebanese army’s decision to prevent the closure of public roads.

Troops used tear gas to disperse protesters who blocked the airport road on Saturday after demonstrations escalated into attacks on UNIFIL vehicles, resulting in injuries, and causing widespread outrage both in Lebanon and internationally.

The army command on Sunday said that its intervention during Saturday’s sit-in on the road to Rafic Hariri International Airport was pre-coordinated with the organizers.

Despite agreeing to stage a peaceful demonstration, a group of protesters blocked the road and attacked military personnel assigned to maintain security, the army statement said.

Vehicles were damaged and at least 23 soldiers, including three officers, were injured in the ensuing violence.

The statement added that military units had to intervene to protect personnel and reopen the road.

Lebanon is waiting to complete deployment of its army in areas that Israeli forces are due to vacate by Feb.18.

However, Israel announced it will not remove its troops from five strategic hills along the border.

With 48 hours remaining for the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops, further Israeli military action took place in several border towns, including Kfarshouba.

A woman was killed and several other people wounded on Sunday when Israeli forces fired on a group of residents attempting to return to the border town of Houla.

Five people, including two paramedics, were also arrested after residents tried to cross earth barriers set up by Israeli forces.

Families bypassed the Lebanese army’s positions and tried to enter the town with the aim of “recovering the bodies of their sons” who were affiliated with Hezbollah and were killed during clashes with Israeli forces.

Khadija Hussein Atwi was killed when Israeli troops fired on the group. Her father had been killed during confrontations with Israel.

Lebanon’s army later urged residents to avoid heading to border areas where its forces had not completed deployment.

In a statement, the army command said that “citizens must not go to the southern regions where the army has not completed its deployment and must adhere to the instructions of the deployed military units, to preserve their safety and avoid the fall of innocent people, given the danger of unexploded ordnance left behind by the Israeli enemy, in addition to the possibility of the presence of enemy forces in those areas.”

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam discussed the ceasefire agreement and the withdrawal of the Israeli troops in a phone call with his Qatari counterpart and Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani.

The Qatari foreign minister reiterated Qatar’s support for Lebanon, its unity and territorial integrity.

A statement from Qatar’s Foreign Ministry highlighted “the importance of fully adhering to the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon and the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation from the Lebanese territories.”

Israel is committed to the ceasefire, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.

Speaking at a press conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Netanyahu said that he expects Lebanon to commit to its role and to disarm Hezbollah.

The US secretary of state said that the Lebanese state “must be strong and able to disarm Hezbollah.”

 


Hezbollah chief says Israel must fully withdraw from Lebanon by February 18

An image grab taken from Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV on February 16, 2025, shows Hezbollah chief Naim Qasem delivering a speech.
Updated 16 February 2025
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Hezbollah chief says Israel must fully withdraw from Lebanon by February 18

  • Hezbollah secretary general Naim Qassem said: “Israel must withdraw completely on Feb. 18, it has no pretext, no five points or other details... this is the agreement”

BEIRUT: The head of Hezbollah said on Sunday that Israeli troops must withdraw from Lebanese territory in full by a February 18 deadline, saying it had “no pretext” to maintain a military presence in any post in southern Lebanon.
Under a truce brokered by Washington in November, Israeli troops were granted 60 days to withdraw from southern Lebanon where they had waged a ground offensive against fighters from Iran-backed Hezbollah since early October.
That deadline was later extended to February 18, but Israel’s military requested that it keep troops in five posts in southern Lebanon, sources told Reuters last week.
In a recorded televised speech, Hezbollah secretary general Naim Qassem said: “Israel must withdraw completely on Feb. 18, it has no pretext, no five points or other details... this is the agreement.”
Qassem said any Israeli military presence on Lebanese soil after February 18 would be considered an occupying force.
“Everyone knows how an occupation is dealt with,” Qassem said, without explicitly threatening that his group would resume attacks against Israel.
Israel’s public broadcaster said on Wednesday the US had authorized a “long term” Israeli troop presence in southern Lebanon.
During the broadcast of Qassem’s speech, at least three Israeli air strikes hit Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley. Israel’s military said it conducted strikes after identifying Hezbollah activity at sites containing rocket launchers and other weapons.