Turkey has lashed out against an Iraqi Kurdish group that shares power in Iraqi Kurdistan over its alleged ties to Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants who are waging an armed insurgency against the Turkish state, accusing the former of succumbing to the PKK’s grip. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told Turkey’s pro-government A Haber news channel Monday that the PKK had taken “full control” of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the second largest political party in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and junior partner in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). “Their high-level officials deny this when we raise it with them,” Cavusoglu said.
Cavusoglu’s comments follow the April 8 drone strike targeting the US-led coalition’s top ally in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) in Syria. Commander in Chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces Mazlum Kobane and Ilham Ahmed, leader of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) — a top government body in Kurdish-controlled northeast Syria — were in a convoy en route to Sulaimaniyah International Airport together with three US military personnel when the drone struck the perimeter of the airport. US Central Command and the Pentagon confirmed the presence of US staff in the cortege, saying their lives were imperiled and that an investigation was underway. Cavusoglu made no reference to the drone strike.
The Iraqi president’s office blamed Turkey for the attack and is demanding that Ankara apologize for its actions. The president, Abdul Latif Rashid, was nominated to the post by the PUK. Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara last month, has not commented on the affair.
Kobane also held Turkey responsible for the drone strike, describing it as Ankara’s latest attempt to kill him in an interview with Al-Monitor. Western officials speaking on background to Al-Monitor said Turkey had carried out the strike. The Wall Street Journal, which was the first to report the presence of US military staff in the targeted vehicles, cited Western officials blaming Turkey as well.
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