{"id":48094,"date":"2022-04-19T05:28:12","date_gmt":"2022-04-19T05:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=48094"},"modified":"2022-04-19T05:28:12","modified_gmt":"2022-04-19T05:28:12","slug":"turkey-begins-large-scale-operation-in-northern-iraq-against-kurdish-militants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=48094","title":{"rendered":"Turkey begins large-scale operation in northern Iraq against Kurdish militants"},"content":{"rendered":"
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ANKARA: Turkey has begun the new week with the launch of a large-scale ground and aerial cross-border offensive against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq.<\/p>\n

Alongside artillery, T129B helicopters, drones and F-16 fighters, Turkey\u2019s Special Forces and elite commando units were also deployed as part of the campaign that reportedly struck targets of the Kurdistan Workers\u2019 Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq\u2019s Metina, Zap and Avashin-Basyan regions.<\/p>\n

The cross-border action, named Operation Claw Lock, came a day after Turkey\u2019s Minister of Interior Suleyman Soylu said: \u201cWe will save Syria and Iraq from the hands of the US and Europe, and bring peace there.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Zaed Ismail, member of the scientific committee of the Istanbul-based Academy of International Relations, the operation is related to increased missile strikes against the Turkish base in Zilikan in Nineveh, and the PKK\u2019s expansion in northern Iraq deep into Sinjar. It is also linked to recent political contact between Ankara and Irbil.<\/p>\n

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently met with Masrour Barzani, the prime minister of Iraq\u2019s Kurdistan regional government in Irbil.<\/p>\n

Experts have noted that Sinjar is turning into an alternative headquarters for the PKK.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe military operations began about a week after the visit of Barzani to \u200b\u200bAnkara and it clearly indicated the existence of security coordination between Irbil and Ankara to launch the military operation,\u201d Ismail said.<\/p>\n

Ismail said the PKK \u201cbegan posing an increased existential threat to the political stability of the entire geography of northern Iraq, with repeated missile attacks on Irbil Airport.\u201d<\/p>\n

The offensive was carried out in coordination with Turkey\u2019s \u201cfriends and allies,\u201d the Defense Ministry stated.<\/p>\n

But, for Ismail, it is difficult to resolve the battle through airstrikes, unless the international conditions are created for a broad ground operation.<\/p>\n

The operation, which began at midnight, was launched as Russia showed no letup in its invasion of Ukraine, while Turkey\u2019s mediation role was welcomed by Western partners.<\/p>\n

Both the US and the EU have already designated the PKK as a terror group.<\/p>\n

Tuna Aygun, an Iraq expert at Ankara-based think tank ORSAM, said the latest operation took place as part of a previous offensive, but this time Turkey was targeting runaway elements of the PKK from the eastern and western parts of the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe operation area (had been) a shelter for the PKK militants for some time. Especially since 2017, (the) PKK mostly concentrated its logistical and military strength in Iraq to hit targets in Turkey,\u201d he told Arab News.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy establishing temporary military bases, Turkey aims at establishing its control on the transit routes of the militants according to the geographical characteristics of the territory,\u201d said Aygun.<\/p>\n

However, it is still unclear how long the military operation will endure and whether the movements of the PKK militants will be restricted.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will not be a one-day operation. But with the increased use of armed drones during such offensives, these moves do not depend any longer on the clim(actic) conditions,\u201d Aygun said. He added that Turkey\u2019s latest operation has the support of Baghdad and Irbil because it is being seen as a way to stabilize a region where thousands of civilians were displaced in recent years due to the PKK\u2019s presence.<\/p>\n

Ahead of the upcoming elections next year, this operation is also likely to have domestic repercussions in Turkish politics in the eyes of nationalist voters, and used as a trump card against the opposition pro-Kurdish Peoples\u2019 Democratic Party.<\/p>\n

Yerevan Saeed, research associate at the Arab Gulf Institute in Washington, said Turkey has been seeking to build a security zone inside the Kurdistan region for a number of years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe military operation appears to be deeper and more intense this year,\u201d he told Arab News.<\/p>\n

Its objectives are likely to include seizing control of strategic areas of Afashin, Matin, Khukuk and Zab. \u201c(The) Turkish military has failed to control them in the past,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf successful, Ankara will be able to separate Qandil mountains where PKK bases are located from (the) Rojava and Sinjar areas, (restricting the) PKK\u2019s movements.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ali Semin, an expert on Iraqi politics from Nisantasi University in Istanbul, said the offensive is part of a series of operations since 2019 to create a buffer zone between its border with Northern Iraq and PKK-dominated areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnkara seems to seize the best political opportunity to expand its operation,\u201d he told Arab News.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe leadership in Baghdad and Irbil consider the latest activities of the PKK as an intervention (to) their political presence,\u201d said Semin.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnlike the past operations of Turkey that were criticized by Iraqi authorities as a violation of their territorial sovereignty, Turkey\u2019s current operation mostly (have) their backing,\u201d said the expert.<\/p>\n

Over the last three decades, Semin said, about 250 villages had been evacuated in northern Iraq. This was also where fighting in the past few years has intensified between Peshmerga forces loyal to the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the PKK.<\/p>\n

According to Noah Ringler, an expert from Georgetown University, the offensive has received military support from the Turkish-aligned KDP Peshmerga and comes amid ongoing challenges with government formations in Baghdad, where Turkish officials now believe they have broad support from political parties for the operation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goals of the operation likely include new Turkish operations posts closer to the PKK\u2019s strategic strongholds near Qandil mountains, which holds political significance in Turkey, as well as disruption of PKK operations and influence in the region, and the strengthening of Kurdish and Iraqi political actors aligned with Turkey,\u201d he told Arab News.<\/p>\n

Experts also note that the success of such operations will also influence local dynamics in Syria.<\/p>\n

\u201c(The) Kurdish People\u2019s Protection Units are mostly supported logistically and militarily by the PKK bases in Sinjar,\u201d Semin said.<\/p>\n

Baghdad and Irbil reached a security and administrative agreement on Sinjar on Oct. 9, 2020.<\/p>\n

However, the agreement that called for the removal of PKK forces in the region has not been implemented yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cTurkey, together with Baghdad and Irbil, can be a facilitator to execute this agreement and turn the region into a secure zone where the Iraqi authorities regain control,\u201d Semin said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ANKARA: Turkey has begun the new week with the launch of a large-scale ground and aerial cross-border offensive against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq. Alongside artillery, T129B helicopters, drones and F-16 fighters, Turkey\u2019s Special Forces and elite commando units were also deployed as part of the campaign that reportedly struck targets of the Kurdistan Workers\u2019…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spotlight_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48094\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}