A Turkish delegation led by Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and the country’s military chief General Staff Yasar Guler visited Baghdad on January 18, where they met with top Iraqi officials.

Akar and Guler used the meetings to present proposals for action against the PKK in Iraq’s Shingal region, Turkiye said.

These included a joint Turkish-Iraqi operation, an Iraqi operation with Turkish air-support, a joint operation between Iraq and the country’s Kurdish regional government, or Turkey going alone, according to the newspaper.

Turkey continues to conduct military operations targeting PKK bases along the mountainous border with Iraq.

But Ankara’s attention has increasingly turned to Shingal, which provides the PKK with crucial access to the Kurdish-led administration in northern Syria.

The PKK bolstered its presence in Shingal after intervening to protect the local Yazidi religious minority from attack by the Islamic State in August 2014. The group maintains influence in the region through the Shingal Resistance Units, a predominantly Yazidi militia.

Turkey has repeatedly threatened to launch a military operation in Shingal and has targeted the YBS with airstrikes. But Iraq is reluctant to allow the Turkish military to gain further influence within its borders, Turkiye said.

On Thursday, Iraqi military spokesperson Major General Tahsin al-Khafaji told Iraqi Kurdish outlet Rudaw that reports of armed groups in Shingal were “rumors”.

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