Türkiye has indicated it may launch a limited military operation against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Sinjar region of northern Iraq, while stressing its readiness to work with any government that assumes power in Baghdad.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the PKK is set to become a major issue for Iraq, noting that the group does not control any territory inside Türkiye, but “occupies large areas in Iraq”.
“How can a sovereign state allow this?” he asked, adding that “changes could soon take place” in several areas, including Iraq’s Sinjar, Makhmour and the Qandil Mountains.
Fidan outlined what he described as the PKK’s current deployment, saying Makhmour, south of Erbil near the Nineveh province, hosts the group’s civilian structures, while Sinjar, northwest of Mosul near the Syrian border, hosts its armed elements.
He said the leadership and command structures are based in the Qandil Mountains, with other strongholds near Duhok lying outside the area covered by Türkiye’s ongoing Claw Operation.
In a televised interview late Monday, Fidan stated that Sinjar is surrounded by Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), revealing that Ankara has held around 20 meetings with PMF leader Faleh al-Fayyad to address the issue.
On possible military action against the PKK, he described it as “a simple military operation,” in which PMF forces would advance on the ground while Türkiye conducts air operations, estimating it would take two or three days.
Since 2024, Türkiye has pursued negotiations with imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, which led to his call on February 27, 2025, for the group to dissolve and lay down its arms.
The PKK subsequently announced a ceasefire, declared its dissolution on May 12, 2025, and held symbolic weapons-burning ceremonies in the Qandil Mountains in July. In October, it announced the withdrawal of its fighters from Türkiye to areas in Qandil.
On Baghdad’s position, Fidan said the Iraqi government would be forced to demonstrate genuine political will toward the PKK, insisting that the group cannot remain in Sinjar.
Iraq began addressing the issue during the tenure of former prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and that, under current Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, the PKK has sought to expand its presence in Baghdad, he remarked.
Baghdad is in the process of forming a new government, months after holding parliamentary elections.
Over the past two years, Ankara and Baghdad have established a high-level security coordination mechanism to confront the PKK, holding five meetings in both capitals. The latest took place in April. Following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Iraq in April 2024, Iraq’s National Security Council formally designated the PKK a banned organization.
Fidan also said the Kurdish issue in Syria has direct implications for Iraq, hoping that Baghdad would draw lessons from recent developments in Syria, including the integration of Kurdish forces into the Syrian army, and take “prudent decisions to ease Iraq’s own transition”.
