Skip to main content

Intel: Pentagon pauses program that helps Turkey target PKK

The United States has suspended providing real-time intelligence to Ankara that helped it target militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party.
A U.S. Air Force MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle assigned to the California Air National Guard's 163rd Reconnaissance Wing flies near the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, California in this January 7, 2012 USAF handout photo obtained by Reuters February 6, 2013.    REUTERS/U.S. Air Force/Tech. Sgt. Effrain Lopez/Handout     (UNITED STATES - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS) THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLI

The United States has suspended providing real-time intelligence to Ankara that helped it target militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The change followed Turkey’s Oct. 9 offensive against a US-backed Syrian Kurdish militia that Turkey insists is part of the PKK. The news, broken by Reuters, is further evidence of the fraying relationship between the two NATO allies.

Why it matters:  Both Turkey and the United States classify the PKK as a terrorist group. The CIA played a key role in helping Turkey catch PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in 1999.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.