By Mazin Baqal and Azad Abdullah

ERBIL, Iraq

The PKK has withdrawn from several positions after the Turkish Armed Forces stepped up military operations against the terrorist group in northern Iraq’s Qandil Mountain region on Wednesday, according to local officials.

Ihsan Abdulqadir, head of the Sidakan sub-district near the Turkish-Iranian border, told Anadolu Agency that PKK terrorists had withdrawn from a number of checkpoints following a fresh round of bombardments by the Turkish military.

Abdulqadir went on to stress that the terrorist group was deeply unpopular among the local population. 

“We, the people of Sidakan, want them [the PKK] out of the region,” he said. 

“We have repeatedly said that the group’s presence is dangerous but they have consistently refused to leave,” he added.

In recent video footage of the area, dense smoke can be seen rising from positions around Qandil Mountain, which has long been a PKK terrorist stronghold. 

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU. 

The group’s three-decade-long terror campaign against Turkey has left more than 40,000 people dead, including numerous women and children.