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Turkey, Iran Summoned as Iraq Demands Ankara to Withdraw Forces

A member of the Iraqi federal police is seen near military vehicles in a street in Baghdad, Iraq October 7, 2019. REUTERS/Wissm al-Okili
A member of the Iraqi federal police is seen near military vehicles in a street in Baghdad, Iraq October 7, 2019. REUTERS/Wissm al-Okili
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Turkey, Iran Summoned as Iraq Demands Ankara to Withdraw Forces

A member of the Iraqi federal police is seen near military vehicles in a street in Baghdad, Iraq October 7, 2019. REUTERS/Wissm al-Okili
A member of the Iraqi federal police is seen near military vehicles in a street in Baghdad, Iraq October 7, 2019. REUTERS/Wissm al-Okili

Baghdad on Thursday demanded Ankara immediately halt its assault in northern Iraq, where Turkish special forces and helicopters have been targeting Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) hideouts.

Turkey early Wednesday launched a cross-border operation into the mountainous regions of northern Iraq where the PKK, considered by Ankara to be a "terrorist" group, is thought to be hiding out.

Iraq's foreign ministry summoned Turkish ambassador Fatih Yildiz on Thursday and handed him a "strongly-worded protest note calling for a halt to such provocative actions."

"We stress that Turkey must stop its bombardment and withdraw its attacking forces from Iraqi territory," the ministry said in a statement.

"We affirm our categorical rejection of these violations," it added.

It was the second time in a week that Baghdad summoned Yildiz, who was also called to the foreign ministry on Tuesday following Turkish bombardment in northern Iraq, also against PKK hideouts.

After that meeting, Yildiz said he had told Iraqi officials that if Baghdad did not take action against the PKK fighters, Ankara would continue to fight the group wherever it is.

Turkey’s Defense Ministry said on Thursday that Turkish forces have hit more than 500 Kurdish targets in northern Iraq as part of “Operation Claw-Tiger" in the region against the PKK.

Turkey began expanding its military footprint in Iraq last summer in an intense operation against PKK targets following the July 17 assassination in Irbil of Osman Kose, who worked for the Turkish Consulate there. Ankara has blamed the PKK for his killing.

Iraq on Thursday also summoned Iranian Ambassador Iraj Masjedi to protest the bombardment of border villages in the Haji Omran area outside of Irbil the previous day. The shelling resulted in property damages to the villages, the statement said.

Iran routinely attacks its own Kurdish rebels who have bases in northern Iraq. In a statement, the Iraqi ministry condemned the attack and called on Iran to respect Iraq’s sovereignty and encouraged bilateral cooperation to maintain security along the shared border.

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Arab World

Türkiye Backing Syria’s Military and Has No Immediate Withdrawal Plans, Defense Minister Says 

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler attends a signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding on establishing a mine countermeasures naval group in the Black Sea, aimed at clearing mines floating there as a result of the war in Ukraine, in Istanbul, Türkiye, January 11, 2024. (Reuters)
Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler attends a signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding on establishing a mine countermeasures naval group in the Black Sea, aimed at clearing mines floating there as a result of the war in Ukraine, in Istanbul, Türkiye, January 11, 2024. (Reuters)
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Türkiye Backing Syria’s Military and Has No Immediate Withdrawal Plans, Defense Minister Says 

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler attends a signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding on establishing a mine countermeasures naval group in the Black Sea, aimed at clearing mines floating there as a result of the war in Ukraine, in Istanbul, Türkiye, January 11, 2024. (Reuters)
Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler attends a signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding on establishing a mine countermeasures naval group in the Black Sea, aimed at clearing mines floating there as a result of the war in Ukraine, in Istanbul, Türkiye, January 11, 2024. (Reuters)

Türkiye is training and advising Syria's armed forces and helping improve its defenses, and has no immediate plans for the withdrawal or relocation of its troops stationed there, Defense Minister Yasar Guler told Reuters.

Türkiye has emerged as a key foreign ally of Syria's new government since opposition groups - some of them backed for years by Ankara - ousted former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December to end his family's five-decade rule.

It has promised to help rebuild neighboring Syria and facilitate the return of millions of Syrian civil war refugees, and played a key role last month getting US and European sanctions on Syria lifted.

The newfound Turkish influence in Damascus has raised Israeli concerns and risked a standoff or worse in Syria between the regional powers.

In written answers to questions from Reuters, Guler said Türkiye and Israel, which carried out its latest airstrikes on southern Syria late on Tuesday, are continuing de-confliction talks to avoid military accidents in the country.

Türkiye’s overall priority in Syria is preserving its territorial integrity and unity, and ridding it of terrorism, he said, adding Ankara was supporting Damascus in these efforts.

"We have started providing military training and consultancy services, while taking steps to increase Syria's defense capacity," Guler said, without elaborating on those steps.

Named to the post by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan two years ago, Guler said it was too early to discuss possible withdrawal or relocation of the more than 20,000 Turkish troops in Syria.

Ankara controlled swathes of northern Syria and established dozens of bases there after several cross-border operations in recent years against Kurdish militants it deems terrorists.

This can "only be re-evaluated when Syria achieves peace and stability, when the threat of terrorism in the region is fully removed, when our border security is fully ensured, and when the honorable return of people who had to flee is done," he said.

NATO member Türkiye has accused Israel of undermining Syrian peace and rebuilding with its military operations there in recent months and, since late 2023, has also fiercely criticized Israel's assault on Gaza.

But the two regional powers have been quietly working to establish a de-confliction mechanism in Syria.

Guler described the talks as "technical level meetings to establish a de-confliction mechanism to prevent unwanted events" or direct conflict, as well as "a communication and coordination structure".

"Our efforts to form this line and make it fully operational continue. Yet it should not be forgotten that the de-confliction mechanism is not a normalization," he told Reuters.