DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — A flurry of statements by Turkish leaders in recent days have heralded a ground operation on the Qandil Mountains in northern Iraq, where the leadership and major camps of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) are based.

The warnings come amid heightened Turkish efforts to curb Kurdish militants, including a military campaign in northern Syria and the walling of borders, but also in the midst of a heated election campaign dominated by nationalist bluster, raising questions over Ankara’s motive.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu was the first to reveal June 2 that Turkish troops had penetrated 26-27 kilometers (some 16 miles) into northern Iraq, advancing toward Qandil. “We are almost there. We will not let that treacherous setup stay there,” he said, referring to the PKK, which Ankara considers a terrorist group over its armed insurgency since 1984. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the following day during a campaign trip to Diyarbakir that “Qandil’s turn is coming." Government spokesman Bekir Bozdag followed up with remarks after a Cabinet meeting that “anything can happen anytime” regarding Qandil.

Al-Monitor’s Metin Gurcan had reported in April that Turkish commandos were inside northern Iraq, quietly putting up military outposts in the Sidekan area, north of Hakurk, which is adjacent to Qandil and a major route for PKK infiltrations into Turkey. Ankara’s objectives, he wrote, were “to eliminate the PKK’s setup at Sidekan” that allows infiltration into Turkey and “to ensure 24/7 domination” of the area through temporary military camps while opening a corridor to Qandil.