PKK responsible for attacks on local official — Kurdish Regional Government

The Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq has announced that the PKK terrorist organisation was responsible for a recent attack on an official from a local political party.

In a statement on Facebook, the KRG reported that PKK terrorists have targeted numerous civilians and members of the security forces over the past three years and have been attempting assassinations.

The announcement came after an attack on Monday targeting Ekrem Salih, an official from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), in the Kelar district of Sulaymaniyah province.

The KRG emphasised that the PKK has been harming trade and citizens by burning marketplaces in the region and stated that the group is involved in drug trafficking and distribution at an international level.

The KRG's statement warned that the PKK is "jeopardising the future of the region and its actions will not go unanswered." Masoud Barzani, President of the KDP, condemned the attack and vowed that the PKK would "pay the price" for targeting Salih. Barzani expressed his satisfaction with Salih's good health during a phone call and reiterated his condemnation of the attack.

The KRG Security Council also released a statement confirming that the PKK has targeted many citizens and security forces in the region over the past three years and carried out the attack on Salih.

Calls for cooperation with Türkiye

In response to the increasing terrorist activities of the PKK in Iraq, the Iraqi Islamic Party has called on the Baghdad administration to cooperate with Türkiye to address the issue.

The party expressed concern over the PKK's activities, noting that they pose a significant political and security threat to the country.

The statement emphasised that Türkiye's operations against the PKK in Iraq are a natural response to the group's spread and the resulting "dangerous security gap." The Iraqi Islamic Party urged the government to move from merely not allowing its territories to be used for attacks against other countries to actively resolving the PKK issue through joint cooperation with Türkiye.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organisation by Türkiye, the US, and the EU, has been responsible for over 40,000 deaths, including women, children, and infants, in its nearly 40-year campaign against Türkiye.