ERBIL, Iraq
The terrorist PKK group continues to threaten the security and peace of civilians and the security forces of the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) since taking root in the region in 1983.
The terrorists' actions have led to the evacuation of hundreds of villages in the cities of Erbil, Duhok, and Sulaymaniyah while forcing thousands of people to flee their homes.
Activities like agriculture and farming have become impossible in areas where the terrorists are located as local government services, including road and infrastructure construction, water, and electricity are unavailable.
Those hoping to return to their villages face obstacles due to the terrorists. Peshmerga soldiers of the KRG also sometimes clash with the terrorists disrupting security and threatening residents as clashes take place.
Mines laid by the PKK have also caused the deaths of many Peshmerga over the years.
PKK clashed with local Kurdish parties
The PKK has always caused trouble for the regional government and people in Iraq, where it has been present for nearly 40 years.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) fought together against the PKK in 1993.
Separate clashes also took place between the PKK and KDP in 1996, and again with the PUK in 2000, with the terror group suffering heavy losses in both instances.
While the PKK was headquartered in the cities in the 1990s, after these clashes it retreated to the countryside from where it launched terrorist acts and blocked roads.
PKK's occupation of villages in KRG
According to official data from the KRG government, the PKK had occupied 515 villages on the border of Erbil, Duhok, and Sulaymaniyah in 2015. Of these, 304 were in the Duhok province, while 177 were in Erbil, and 34 in Sulaymaniyah.
After Turkiye's successful cross-border operations in recent years, the PKK retreated from the Turkish border into Iraq. It occupied 285 more villages in the last seven years.
In a statement on Feb. 27, 2021, KRG Prime Minister Masoud Barzani emphasized that authorities could not rebuild 800 villages because of the PKK, adding that they would not tolerate the terror group's presence in the region.
Repeated attacks on oil pipeline
Due to the KRG government's close political, economic, and cultural ties with Turkiye, the PKK has not hesitated from harming the economic resources of the regional administration which it accuses of "collaboration."
The terrorist organization has repeatedly attacked the region's oil pipeline to Turkiye, the main source of income for the Erbil administration, causing it to explode. The PKK claimed sabotage attacks on the pipeline on July 29, 2015, Oct. 28, 2020, and Jan. 18, 2022.
According to a report of the KRG parliament's finance committee, the daily costs to the regional government due to the explosion of the pipeline amount to $10 million.
The terrorist PKK has also been threatening war against the Peshmerga forces at every opportunity. It ambushed Peshmerga in the Amedi district of Duhok on June 5, 2021, killing five soldiers and injuring seven.
Duran Kalkan, one of the terror group's so-called senior figures, spoke to media outlets affiliated with the PKK after Turkiye launched Operation Claw-Lock, threatening the KDP.
Turkiye's National Defense Ministry said it launched Operation Claw-Lock on Monday after reports that the terrorist PKK was planning to launch a large-scale attack, adding that the pre-emptive operation is in line with the UN Charter's principle of self-defense.
In 2020, Turkiye launched operations Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle in the border regions of northern Iraq to ensure the safety of the Turkish people and frontiers.
In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkiye, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the US, and European Union -- has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.
