Aug. 30 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Turkish government has said it is “coordinating” with Iraq to “clarify all the details” relating to the downing of a Turkish army drone on Thursday near the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.
“Coordination has been established with the Iraqi authorities to clarify all the details of the incident. Turkey is fully committed to the fight against terrorism,” said Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli.
He stressed that “Turkey continues its fight against the terrorist organisation present on Turkish territory, in line with the principle of self-defence,” referring to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has bases in the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan.
Keceli also stressed on his account on the social network X that “there is a firm and joint will between Turkey and Iraq that is gradually strengthening on the ground when it comes to combating terrorism” and recalled that Baghdad recently outlawed the PKK within the framework of a bilateral agreement.
“Both countries are determined that this cooperation will yield concrete results on the ground and that coordination between the relevant authorities will be increased to this end,” he concluded, after Baghdad confirmed the downing of the aircraft and confirmed that it was owned by the Turkish Army.
The shooting down took place a day after Turkey announced the “neutralisation” of a woman identified as a PKK member and who, according to Kurdish media, was one of two journalists killed in a bombing carried out on Friday in the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan.
The Turkish military has been involved in regular military operations against the PKK in Iraq, where the group has numerous bases, since a ceasefire between the government and the armed group broke down in July 2015. The Iraqi government outlawed the group in March amid a rapprochement with Turkey that includes efforts to strengthen security ties.
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