Turkmens concerned over PKK terrorists’ attempt to infiltrate Iraq’s Kirkuk

Iraqi Turkmens are worried about a possible Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) attack in Iraq’s oil-rich Kirkuk as terrorists have started to return to the city and harass civilians.

Speaking exclusively to Yeni Şafak daily, Kirkuk Province Directorate Organization Officer Muhammet Saman of the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF) expressed his concern over the latest deployment of terrorists to the region and said, “PKK terrorists have begun to settle in some districts of Kirkuk once again. We are worried about PKK conducting a massacre against civilians.”

Saman stressed that PKK terrorists were especially deployed near Turkmen regions where ITF Front buildings are located.

“PKK terrorists have begun to settle in the city by renting houses near buildings of the ITF,” he said.

He also underlined that PKK terrorists disguise themselves as Peshmerga members or security forces, who withdrew from the city about a year ago, to return to Kirkuk. They have also started harassing civilians in the region, according to reports.

A military initiative launched by Baghdad following the illegitimate Sept. 25 independence referendum enabled the swift recapture of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk from the Peshmerga as well as several other parts of Iraq that were disputed between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

Stressing the importance of purging all the terrorists in the country, “We don’t want to see any terror organization that threatens Iraq and its neighbors,” he added.

Saman also stated that concerns had risen over Kurdish political parties asserting that Peshmerga forces had to return to Kirkuk for them to join the government being established in Baghdad.

“Among the Peshmerga and security forces, there will also be PKK terror elements. We are worried that the PKK might conduct a massacre against Turkmens.”

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States. The PKK has been conducting armed violence in the southeastern part of Turkey since 1984. More than 40,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the three-decade long conflict.

Reiterating that Turkmen leaders were killed in the last 15 years, especially in Kirkuk and Tuzhurmatu, “We don’t want to re-live those days. We want security in Kirkuk to be provided by the central Baghdad government alone,” Saman concluded.