Turkey, Iran preparing joint operations against Kurdish militants - Ankara

ANKARA, 06 March. - (ANA) - Turkey and Iran are preparing to hold joint operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is considered by Ankara to be a terrorist organization, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Wednesday.

"Turkey and Iran are preparing joint operations against PKK terrorists," Soylu told Anadolu news agency.

According to the minister, Turkey has been effectively fighting the PKK, whose activity in southeastern Turkey has significantly decreased.

"The terrorist organisation is going through the most difficult period in its history," Soylu added.

The Turkish government has been fighting the PKK, which seeks to establish a Kurdish autonomy in Turkey, since the early 1980s. In 2013, The PKK and Ankara agreed on a ceasefire, but it collapsed just two years later after a number of terror attacks allegedly committed by PKK militants.

In addition, the Turkish authorities consider the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to be a terrorist organisation, and view the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) operating in Syria to be an affiliate of the outlawed group.

Turkish security forces carry out regular anti-PKK raids across the country and conduct airstrikes against the group in northern Iraq. According to the Turkish authorities, over 10,000 PKK members have been neutralized since 2015.  - (ANA) -

AB/ANA/06 March 2019 - - -