Turkiye’s fight against terrorist PKK benefits Iraqi sovereignty: Ambassador

MOSUL, Iraq (AA) – Turkiye’s fight against the terror group PKK will help reestablish and strengthen Iraqi sovereignty and security, said the Turkish ambassador to Baghdad on Wednesday.

Ali Riza Guney made the comments in a meeting with the governor of the northern Nineveh governorate, Najeem al-Jabouri, in Nineveh’s capital Mosul, along with a delegation of representatives from Iraq’s Industry Ministry.

Noting that the city of Mosul was severely damaged by the terror group Daesh/ISIS, and the young people there are in dire need of jobs, he said Turkish companies sought to invest in the region in an effort to contribute to employment.

The Turkish diplomat went on to say that Ankara places great importance on peace and safety in neighboring Iraq, and now is a good time to invest since Daesh/ISIS has been militarily defeated.

However, Daesh/ISIS is not the only headache Iraq has, according to the Turkish official, who said the PKK terror group also poses a major risk to the country’s sovereignty and security, as it killed Iraqi soldiers in Mosul’s Sinjar district and Peshmerga in the northern Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) area.

“The Republic of Turkiye’s fight against the PKK (aims) to reestablish and strengthen Iraqi sovereignty,” he said.

Al-Jabouri, for his part, said he was glad Turkish companies have a presence in Mosul and that Iraq’s ties with Turkiye are strong, adding that they invested in a wide range of sectors such as industry, agriculture, and water.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the US, and European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

Turkiye has launched successive operations against the PKK in northern Iraq since 2020, most recently Operation Claw-Lock in April targeting PKK hideouts in Iraq's Metina region.

It was preceded by operations Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle, which were launched in 2020 to root out terrorists hiding in northern Iraq and plotting cross-border attacks in Turkiye.

* Writing by Ali Murat Alhas