Turkey Plans Ground Military Operation in Iraq

The Turkish armed forces are planning a large-scale ground military operation in northern Iraq against the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants. In this context, journalist Abdulkadir Selvi, a columnist for "Hürriyet" and close to Turkish government circles, stated, "First and foremost, a large-scale ground operation will be carried out in the area where Operation (Claw-Lock) was executed. An agreement has been reached with the central Iraqi government and the Erbil administration, which is controlled by the Barzani family, prior to the operation." "Hürriyet" revealed that Ankara expects to "close" its entire 378-kilometer border with Iraq to those it labels as terrorists. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had previously announced that his country plans to "resolve the border security issue" with Iraq in the summer, indicating that the Turkish side also aims to establish a safe corridor 30-40 kilometers deep in Syria.