Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler announced that Turkey has changed its strategy in combating terrorist organizations, and has adopted the principle of destroying terrorists in their hideouts wherever they are.

Minister Guler’s statements came in an interview with a private Turkish channel.

Guler said in a televised interview last night: The PKK /Kurdistan Workers’ Party/ terrorist organization has been stationed in northern Iraq for many years, and that it is carrying out its terrorist operations from that region.

He pointed out that the Turkish security forces have been present in northern Iraq for about 6 years, and that the terrorist organization was forced to leave many of the places where it was present in northern Iraq.

He explained that Turkey is carrying out operations to combat the PKK, which targets its forces and citizens, and is active in several countries in the region, including Syria, Iraq and Iran. It uses the Qandil Mountains in northern Iraq as its stronghold, and is active in many
cities, regions and valleys, from which it launches attacks on the Turkish interior.

On March 15, Baghdad hosted a security summit between Turkey and Iraq, which resulted in the formation of joint permanent committees working in the fields of combating terrorism, trade, agriculture, energy, water, health, and transportation.

In the joint statement issued by the summit, Turkey welcomed the decision of the Iraqi National Security Council regarding the terrorist PKK as a banned organization in the country.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency