Turkish drone strike kills four PKK members in Duhok, Kurdistan Counter-Terrorism Agency reports
Shafaq News/ On Thursday, a Turkish drone strike in Duhok governorate killed members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
According to a statement from the Kurdistan Region’s Counter-Terrorism Agency, the attack targeted two vehicles in the village of Nasra, located in the Amedi district of Duhok. "A Turkish army drone struck the vehicles, resulting in the deaths of four PKK members."
The airstrike is part of Turkiye’s ongoing military operations against the PKK in northern Iraq, where the group has maintained a presence despite Turkish efforts to dismantle its operations.
The conflict between Turkiye and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has its origins in the early 1980s when the PKK began its armed struggle for an independent Kurdish state within Turkiye. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, this conflict escalated into a full-scale insurgency, with the PKK employing guerrilla tactics and the Turkish military responding with major operations targeting PKK strongholds, both within Turkiye and across the border in northern Iraq.
In recent developments, on August 15, following two days of high-level security discussions in Ankara, Turkiye and Iraq signed a significant agreement aimed at strengthening military, security, and counter-terrorism cooperation, explicitly focused on combating the PKK. This accord includes the establishment of joint coordination and training centers in Baghdad and the Bashiqa region in northern Iraq.
Turkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, speaking alongside Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein after the talks, hailed the agreement as having "historical importance." Fuad Hussein similarly emphasized that the deal was "the first of its kind in the history of Iraq and Turkiye," particularly in the areas of defense and security.
Following the signing, Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler told Reuters that these recent counter-terrorism measures undertaken by both countries marked a significant turning point in Turkiye-Iraq relations. Guler also pressed Baghdad to take an additional step by officially designating the PKK as a terrorist organization, underscoring Ankara’s demand for stronger regional cooperation in its fight against the Kurdish insurgent group.
This agreement marks a strategic shift in the regional efforts against the PKK and could lead to intensified military coordination between Turkiye and Iraq as they seek to eliminate PKK operations in northern Iraq, where the group has maintained a significant presence.
