Turkey’s intelligence chief Hakan Fidan became the country’s first official to hold high-level talks in Baghdad after bilateral tensions shot up in July. While Fidan’s visit was aimed at soothing the tensions, it was also a Turkish attempt to exert influence in the Iraqi political crisis.

Tensions spiked over a bloody attack on Parakh, a tourist retreat in Iraqi Kurdistan, that Iraqi leaders blamed on the Turkish military. The July 20 artillery strike killed nine civilians and injured more than 30 others, sparking anger against Turkey across the Iraqi political spectrum. In a remarkably stern reaction, Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr — a key actor in the government crisis in Iraq — called for canceling all security arrangements with Turkey, halting air and land traffic between the two countries and taking action against Turkey at the United Nations.

The massacre came amid growing Iraqi apprehension over Turkey’s long-standing pursuit of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) on Iraqi territory, which has significantly expanded in the past several years. 

In Baghdad, Fidan met with President Barham Saleh, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad al-Halbousi. He emphasized Turkey’s commitment to Iraq’s territorial integrity, but asserted that Turkish cross-border operations would continue as long as the PKK maintains its presence on Iraqi territory, according to the Iraqi Kurdish media. The PKK, which Ankara designates as a terrorist group, has long used the rugged mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan as a rear base.