Iraqi Islamic Party urges Baghdad to cooperate with Türkiye against PKK

BAGHDAD

The Iraqi Islamic Party, expressing concern over the increasing terrorist activities of the PKK in the country, called on the Baghdad administration Tuesday to cooperate with Türkiye on the matter.

"The Iraqi Islamic Party is closely monitoring the increase in terrorist activities of the banned terrorist organization PKK in Iraq. These activities pose a great political and security threat and need to be resolved," it said in a statement.

The statement emphasized that Türkiye's operations against the presence of the terrorist organization in Iraq are a natural response to the spread of the terrorist group, which creates a "dangerous security gap," and noted that regional developments filled with conflicts and instability also affect Iraq’s fragile state.

"The continued presence of the terrorist organization PKK in Iraq and its ongoing terrorist activities against neighboring country Türkiye will hinder the development of political and economic relations with Türkiye.

"We strongly condemn the ongoing terrorist activities of the PKK against Türkiye. Iraq needs to move from the stage of 'not accepting its territories to be used as a base for attacks against other countries' to the stage of solving the issue (of the PKK's presence in Iraq) through a joint plan and cooperation with Türkiye without any hesitation," the statement added.

*Writing by Gizem Nisa Cebi from Istanbul