BAGHDAD — Turkish airstrikes on the Iraqi governorates of Sinjar and Makhmour on Dec. 13 brought the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) back to the fore, raising questions about the future of relations in the region, especially if Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan carries out his threat to launch a ground incursion into Iraq to fight the PKK.
Ankara labels the PKK a “terrorist organization,” and, per an agreement signed under the regime of Saddam Hussein, is allowed to pursue the PKK within 40 kilometers into the Iraqi border.
