DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — Sinjar, Iraq, is shaping up to be the essential gem in someone's crown, but there are several contenders. Turkey, Iran and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) are all vying for control of the strategic area — all for different reasons.
Turkey is working to make good on its threat to demolish PKK strongholds in Iraq by continuing to bombard the group's positions. Though such operations have been ongoing for years, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stepped up the rhetoric earlier this month, vowing, “If the authorities there don’t solve the problems of Qandil and Sinjar and if [Iraq] does not undertake what is to be done, then we will raze those places to the ground."
