PKK working with Iran-backed militias against Turkiye: Pentagon

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The PKK terror group is coordinating with Iran-backed militia groups against Turkish forces in northern Iraq, according to a recently published Pentagon analysis.

The Lead Inspector General of the US-led anti-Daesh/ISIS coalition said in a quarterly report published on Tuesday that Iran-backed militants have recently "increased attacks against Turkish forces in Iraq and Syria" with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) assessing "that the militias probably will continue to coordinate with the" PKK.

"Following Turkish airstrikes in February that targeted the PKK in northern Iraq, a new Iran-aligned militia group conducted a rocket attack against a Turkish expeditionary base north of Mosul," the declassified report said.

"The DIA said the militias probably calculate that their attacks against Turkey will deter Turkey from attacking the PKK in federal Iraq while enhancing their public image as defenders of Iraqi sovereignty," it added.

The PKK is a designated terrorist organization in the US, Turkiye and the EU.

Turkiye has launched successive operations against the PKK in northern Iraq since 2020, most recently starting Operation Claw-Lock in April to target PKK hideouts in Iraq’s Metina region.

That was preceded by Operations Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle, which were launched in 2020 to root out terrorists who hide in northern Iraq and plot cross-border attacks in Turkiye.