Turkey may 'lock' borders with Syria and Iraq to deal with Kurdish militants
There is speculation about a secret deal between Ankara and Baghdad eyeing a contiguous, 30-kilometer-deep buffer from Syria to Iraq.
Turkey’s fresh military operation against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, under way since April 18, has sparked debates in the Iraqi parliament over claims of a secret deal between the two countries, allowing Turkish troops to advance 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) inside Iraq.
Either way, Turkey’s military operations in Iraq and Syria point to an integrated approach in the northern strips of the two countries. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Ankara lists as a terrorist group, has long maintained bases in the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan along the border, and is linked to armed Kurdish groups in both Syria and Iraq.
