Mawazine News-Baghdad
Turkish sources confirmed that plans for a major operation to eliminate the PKK in northern Iraq are ready, and their implementation is expected to be discussed during President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Baghdad on April 22.
The sources said that Ankara has completed the determination of the steps it will take to clear the line leading to Sulaymaniyah of the elements of the “Kurdan Workers”, and the designation of forces and support elements that will cross the border has begun, and the shipping of armored units, military and logistical elements has accelerated, and will be pushed to the border line after the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
The Harriyet newspaper, which is close to the Turkish government, quoted sources it described as “informed”, that Ankara intends to deploy the Russian air defense system “S-400”, on its borders with Iraq within the framework of the large-scale operation targeting the “PKurdish Workers”, which will be conducted in coordination with Baghdad and Erbil, and the focus will beside the ground attack on thwarting attacks of terrorist organization (PKWK) elements with drones.
The Russian two-battery system, which Turkey acquired from Russia in the summer of 2019, raises a oddds with the United States and fears by NATO that a NATO member state could use the system that could expose Russia to its military systems.
Turkey has been subjected to US sanctions over the purchase of the Russian system, including preventing it from acquiring F-35 fighters, and has not yet been able to use them.
The newspaper reported that pro-Ankara Syrian armed opposition factions confirmed that they would provide all possible support for the upcoming Turkish operation in northern Iraq.
Through the operation, Turkey aims to eliminate the positions of the “PKK” within the borders of the military operation “Al-Mulab” area that has been ongoing since 2019, through ground operations with air attribution and the closure of the 378-kilometer border completely at a depth of 40 kilometers, like what is being worked on in northern Syria.
According to the sources, the border line including the Gara area known as the KKK caves and shelters will be reached to destroy it, and the area will be placed under the permanent control of the Turkish forces to prevent it from using it again.
The governments of Baghdad and Erbil are expected to provide intelligence support, and take action against the Kurdish workers in Sulaymaniyah and Sinjar.
Last month, a Turkish Defense Ministry official confirmed an agreement on cooperation with Iraqi officials on the establishment of a safe zone 40 kilometers deep in northern Iraq by the summer, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced.
He stated that during the high-level security meeting held in Baghdad on March 13, with the participation of foreign and defense ministers and heads of intelligence and security services, it was agreed to establish a joint operations center to coordinate movements against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party in northern Iraq.
He added that preparations are continuing to prepare the strategic framework document to be signed between the two countries during Erdogan’s visit to Baghdad, and that one of the issues that we want to include in this document is the establishment of the Joint Operations Center, and the technical details of the operation of the center will be determined after its signing.
Turkey is seeking to eliminate the presence of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party in northern Iraq, and to sever its link with the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, the largest component of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as part of the war on ISIS in cooperation with Baghdad.
In this context, a series of meetings were held that began with a high-level security meeting in Ankara on December 19, followed by mutual visits by foreign and defense ministers and intelligence and security officials of the two countries, as well as visits by Turkish officials to Erbil.
Turkey wants to launch a large-scale military operation to eliminate the presence of the “Kurdish workers” in northern Iraq in cooperation with Baghdad, which linked its participation in these efforts to cooperation in energy, water and transport files along with the development road project, which was welcomed by Ankara.
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