Presence of PKK terrorists increase rapidly in Iraq’s Kirkuk: Turkmen Front

By Ali Makram Ghareeb

KIRKUK, Iraq (AA) - A number of PKK terrorists have infiltrated the Iraqi city of Kirkuk and are disguised as merchants, the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF) political movement told Anadolu Agency on Friday.

ITF spokesman Muhammed Saman said terrorists are hiding in Kirkuk after receiving a major blow Feb. 2 by the Turkish military’s Operation Winter Eagle against terror sites in northern Iraq and parts of northern Syria.

Noting that terrorists began to settle in Kirkuk disguised as merchants and investors with false identities, Saman said they rented workplaces such as wedding halls and cafes.

Stating that the Iraqi intelligence service is aware of the group’s presence in Kirkuk, Saman said Iraq could not intervene in this development due to the political crisis that the country witnesses.

- Turkmen minority in danger

Citing that the PKK has rapidly increased its presence in Kirkuk, Saman underlined that Turkmen officials and politicians are in danger.

"According to Iraqi Intelligence, members of the PKK terrorist organization collect information about the Turkmen officials’ homes and workplaces addresses, as well as road routes,” he said. “If the Turkish Armed Forces increase their operations, the terrorists will target Turkmen officials, whom they track."

Saman said terrorists who previously smuggled weapons and drugs and conducted human trafficking on the Iraq-Syria border are now smuggling oil in Kirkuk, adding that the group stole oil from the Khabbaz oil field in the west of the city and took it out of Iraq illegally.

Stating that the PKK took over some parts of the Sinjar district of Mosul, exploiting the presence of Daesh/ISIS terror group in Iraq years ago, Saman pointed out that the same terrorists are now cooperating with Daesh/ISIS.

The PKK now provides support to Daesh/ISIS attacks against security forces near Altun Kupri in Kirkuk from time to time, according to Saman.

The spokesman urged the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) to play a more serious and positive role in the fight against the PKK terror group in Iraq.

He pointed out that the KRG has political weight in Baghdad and considering its political and economic relations with Turkey, it should engage in a serious fight against terrorists.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat