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Middle East
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan (left) joins his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani during a press conference in Tehran, in October 2017. File photo: AP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iran and Turkey will keep up coordinated attacks on armed Kurdish groups after a meeting on Tuesday between the two countries' presidents, according to a joint declaration published by Iranian state-affiliated media.
Outcomes of the videophone meeting between Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani included agreement to take "steps for result-oriented cooperation, including joint operations, in countering terrorism and organised crime," according to the statement published by Mehr News Agency.
Explicitly named were the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), armed Kurdish groups fighting for increased rights for Kurds in Turkey and Iran respectively.
"Bearing in mind that PKK/PJAK and all terrorist organisations in the region pose a common threat against the security of both Turkey and Iran, both sides emphasised that it is incumbent upon both countries to fully utilise the existing cooperation mechanisms against the activities of PKK/PJAK elements and the other terrorist organisations along the common borders," the statement read.
The PKK and the Kurdistan Free Life Party PJAK both mainly operate in the mountains of the Iraq-Turkey-Iran border, launching attacks on Turkish and Iranian security forces. The two groups are ideologically linked, and PJAK is considered to be the PKK's Iranian wing - an association PJAK denies.
Turkey and Iran previously discussed coordination against the PKK and PJAK in June of this year, translating into apparently coordinated attacks on both groups by the two countries.
While Turkey conducted a campaign of airstrikes and ground operations from mid-June with the stated aim of targeting PKK bases in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, both Ankara and Tehran shelled the Haji Omaran area of the Kurdistan Region, close to the border with Iran.
Iran also a struck a number of bases in Haji Omaran belonging to the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) armed opposition group early in August. Shelling caused nomadic families to flee the area, Haji Omaran mayor Farzang Ahmed told Rudaw on the day of the artillery strike.
Iran announced last week that it would be deploying drones and sensors to a 1,000 kilometre stretch of its border with the Kurdistan Region, as part of a "smart" border defence plan to "fight the merchants of death, the narcotic smugglers," and "prevent weapons, ammunition and illicit items from entering the country.”
Turkey's air and ground operations, dubbed Operation Claw-Eagle and Claw-Tiger respectively, saw at least eight civilians killed, and a number of villages near the Kurdistan Region-Turkey border deserted in fear by residents.
Turkey announced the official end of Operation Claw-Tiger on Sunday.
Outcomes of the videophone meeting between Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani included agreement to take "steps for result-oriented cooperation, including joint operations, in countering terrorism and organised crime," according to the statement published by Mehr News Agency.
Explicitly named were the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), armed Kurdish groups fighting for increased rights for Kurds in Turkey and Iran respectively.
"Bearing in mind that PKK/PJAK and all terrorist organisations in the region pose a common threat against the security of both Turkey and Iran, both sides emphasised that it is incumbent upon both countries to fully utilise the existing cooperation mechanisms against the activities of PKK/PJAK elements and the other terrorist organisations along the common borders," the statement read.
The PKK and the Kurdistan Free Life Party PJAK both mainly operate in the mountains of the Iraq-Turkey-Iran border, launching attacks on Turkish and Iranian security forces. The two groups are ideologically linked, and PJAK is considered to be the PKK's Iranian wing - an association PJAK denies.
Turkey and Iran previously discussed coordination against the PKK and PJAK in June of this year, translating into apparently coordinated attacks on both groups by the two countries.
While Turkey conducted a campaign of airstrikes and ground operations from mid-June with the stated aim of targeting PKK bases in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, both Ankara and Tehran shelled the Haji Omaran area of the Kurdistan Region, close to the border with Iran.
Iran also a struck a number of bases in Haji Omaran belonging to the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) armed opposition group early in August. Shelling caused nomadic families to flee the area, Haji Omaran mayor Farzang Ahmed told Rudaw on the day of the artillery strike.
Iran announced last week that it would be deploying drones and sensors to a 1,000 kilometre stretch of its border with the Kurdistan Region, as part of a "smart" border defence plan to "fight the merchants of death, the narcotic smugglers," and "prevent weapons, ammunition and illicit items from entering the country.”
Turkey's air and ground operations, dubbed Operation Claw-Eagle and Claw-Tiger respectively, saw at least eight civilians killed, and a number of villages near the Kurdistan Region-Turkey border deserted in fear by residents.
Turkey announced the official end of Operation Claw-Tiger on Sunday.
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