Turkey has launched a large-scale ground operation in northern Iraq

Turkey’s armed forces will conduct a large-scale ground operation against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) after the visit of the president of our southeastern neighbor, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to Iraq, a newspaper reports. Hurriyetciting sources.

Erdogan’s visit to Iraq is scheduled for Monday. The Turkish armed forces expect to conduct a large-scale ground military operation in northern Iraq against the PKK in the summer months, the publication previously reported. Erdogan has repeatedly stated that Ankara expects to “solve the border security issue” with Iraq in the summer. According to him, the Turkish side is also seeking to create a security corridor 30-40 kilometers deep in Syria.

The publication specifies that with this operation, Ankara expects to “close” all 378 kilometers of the border with Iraq to “terrorists”.

“President Erdogan said: “We will close the circle that will secure our Iraqi border. God willing, this summer we will finally resolve the issue related to our Iraqi border. After Erdoğan’s visit to Iraq, a comprehensive ground operation against the PKK will be conducted,” writes journalist Abdulkadir Selvi, close to government circles.

“We plan to conduct this operation together with the central government of Baghdad, the administration of Erbil and the Hashd al-Shaabi (Shiite militia). The Turkish armed forces will conduct the operation in Iraq on the ground with the support of the Air Force. The aim is to establish a safe line of 30 -40 kilometers from our border. The attacks on our bases on December 22-23 and January 24 made the creation of a buffer zone inevitable,” the newspaper said.