The Pentagon Chief Inspectorate presented the January-March period report on the operations in Iraq and Syria to the congress. The report included an interesting detail about the PKK terrorist organization.
In the report, which evaluated that the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq supported other Iranian allies in the region to target the Gulf countries, it was noted that an Iraq-based group claimed responsibility for an attack targeting Abu Dhabi in February.
The report included the following assessment of DIA regarding the PKK:
“Meanwhile, Iran-backed militias increased their attacks on Turkish forces in Iraq and Syria. DIA evaluated that the militias were working in coordination with the PKK, which is recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States, in response to Turkish air and UAV attacks on PKK positions. It has become increasingly vocal against Turkish actions, launching rocket attacks on Turkish military bases in Iraq and Syria.After February Turkish airstrikes targeting the PKK in northern Iraq, a new militia group cooperating with Iran has invaded Mosul. launched a rocket attack on a Turkish base in the north.”
WHAT CAUSES THE ATTACKS?
In the report, it was noted that Iranian-backed militias attacked Turkey to deter the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) from conducting an operation against the PKK in Iraq.
In the report, which pointed out the ties of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which is a rival to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (IKRG), with Iran and the PKK, it was noted that the PKK also has links with the Hashd al-Shaabi.
The report reminded that Turkey has been carrying out air and ground attacks against the PKK in Iraq for many years, and it was mentioned that the Turkish Armed Forces followed a strategy in which they targeted high-level PKK ringleaders in Iraq and Syria with armed unmanned aerial vehicles. (AA)