Turkey is planning to maintain a permanent presence in northern Iraq in the aftermath of the ongoing land and air operations against the Kurdish militants there, security sources told Al-Monitor. Turkey’s Operation Claw against outlawed Kurdish militants Iraqi Kurdistan’s northern Hakurk region has been going on for nearly a month.
Hakurk is located on some 32,000 acres next to the Mount Qandil, the strategic headquarters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The Kurdish peshmerga cannot control this area because of its rough terrain and harsh weather conditions. Turkey has said it has so far killed or captured 51 PKK militants and destroyed more than 100 shelters and logistics facilities in the region. Turkey along with most Western powers consider the PKK a terrorist organization.