Turkey’s National Security Council said in a statement last week that a cross-border military crackdown on the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the Hakurk region of northern Iraq was “continuing successfully.” The statement stressed that operations Claw-1 and Claw-2, which began in late May and mid-July, respectively, would continue until Hakurk is “fully cleansed” of the PKK.
Al-Monitor reported in June that the Turkish military seeks to establish a permanent presence in Hakurk, which is adjacent to Mount Qandil, the longstanding home base of the PKK and its route for infiltrations into Turkey. Turkey's goal requires it to set up of permanent bases in areas close to the border, such as Kani Rash, Bani, Shapan, Sidekan and Mawana by November, before the onset of harsh winter conditions in the mountainous region. Road construction is underway to ensure supply routes for the bases. Additionally, Ankara wants to reinforce its existing fixed bases in the border regions of Kani Masi, which controls the Metina area to the north, and Amedi and Suri, which control Bamerni and Gara. It will deploy more tanks, mine-resistant vehicles, indirect fire elements and commando units in northern Iraq as well as increased air surveillance and reconnaissance drones.
Turkey’s intensified military activity aims to increase pressure on the PKK’s strategic heartland in Qandil and curb the mobility of PKK groups across northern Iraq, which is run by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Once full control is secured over Hakurk, Qandil is next in line, security sources in Ankara told Al-Monitor.
The anti-PKK operations have proceeded with Erbil’s consent, and Ankara is satisfied with the KRG’s cooperation. Remarkably, the KRG’s tacit endorsement of Turkey’s efforts to subdue the PKK has turned into active support since the July 17 assassination of an intelligence-affiliated staffer at the Turkish Consulate in Erbil. Osman Kose was shot dead in a posh restaurant in Erbil by a PKK-linked assassin. Peshmerga forces, equipped with light armored vehicles, reinforced security in Amedi, Shladze, Bamerni and the rural areas of Zakho in late July, local Kurdish sources told Al-Monitor. Since the beginning of August, the peshmerga have also erected new checkpoints on routes leading to Hakurk and Qandil. The measures suggest that Erbil is now actively cooperating with Ankara to restrict PKK mobility in northern Iraq.
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