ERBIL, Iraq

Researchers working in the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq said that the terrorist organization PKK and its affiliated groups and offshoots harm the country’s security.

Abdurrahman Sengali, a lecturer at Nawroz University in Duhok, Iraq, told Anadolu that PKK terrorists "have been attacking various parts of Türkiye and the KRG, and planning new attacks."

Stressing that this situation is illegal and unacceptable under international law, Sengali stated this is an attack on the security of both the semi-autonomous KRG and the rest of Iraq.

PKK terrorists 'caused regional economy to collapse'

Saying that the terrorist group PKK "caused the regional economy to collapse," Sengali added: "The PKK terrorists "caused the evacuation of hundreds of villages, as the locals can’t live or practice agriculture there."

The terrorists have established offshoots under various names in Iraq, Syria, Türkiye, and Iran, he said, adding: "There is no country where people accept a structure that opposes the established state. Because this poses a threat to the security of that state. "

Calling the existence of PKK-affiliated groups under various names a serious risk to the country’s security, Sengali said he welcomes the ban on the activities of so-called political parties linked with the PKK terror group.

"This decision taken in Iraq (declaring the PKK a ‘banned group’) will prevent them from taking part in the political process. Banning them will make the political process work better," he stressed.

Saying that the terrorist PKK has not benefited Kurds in any way, Sengali added that the PKK "has always been a threat, launched terrorist acts against local party leaders, burned markets, and hindered the livelihood of the people of the region."

'With these steps, Iraq blocks these structures from carrying out military, political activities’

"Iraq has decided that groups directed and supported from outside the country cannot carry out military or political activities and that this is prohibited," said Sami Rekani, a political scientist at Duhok University.

Economic cooperation projects between Ankara and Baghdad in the fields of water resources and similar areas have also strengthened their security agreements, he said.

Rekani also stressed that Iraq should take steps to reduce threats to Türkiye as part of agreements between the two countries.

"With these steps, Iraq has closed the way for these structures to carry out military and political activities,” he said, adding that Türkiye's counter-terrorist Operation Claw-Lock in northern Iraq, just across the Turkish border, is also part of the agreement reached between Türkiye and Iraq.

Rekani said this also "puts pressure on the PKK/YPG terrorist presence in Syria,” adding: "This process is ongoing, but the US is also supporting the PKK/YPG."

Türkiye has long complained of the US working with the PKK/YPG on the pretext of fighting Daesh/ISIS. Turkish officials say using one terrorist group to fight another makes no sense.

Terrorist PKK now banned in Iraq

On Aug. 6, Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council banned the activities of three political parties for links with the terrorist PKK.

This March, the Iraqi government declared the terrorist PKK a "banned organization."

In its nearly 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

Terrorists often hide out in northern Iraq, just across the Turkish border, to plot terror attacks in Türkiye.

Türkiye in 2022 launched Operation Claw-Lock to target the terror group PKK's hideouts in northern Iraq's Metina, Zap, and Avasin-Basyan regions.​​

*Writing by Serdar Dincel in Istanbul