BAGHDAD — In their meeting on Saturday, Iraqi Premier Haidar al-Abadi and his Turkish counterpart Binali Yildirim discussed the means to coordinate intelligence exchange to limit the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)'s traffic and activities, Iraqi media reported.


The reports cited Saad al-Hadithi, spokesperson for Abadi's office, telling the reporters that the Iraqi and Turkish premiers discussed ways to better manage intelligence to safeguard the common borders between the two countries in the face of the PKK.

Yildirim arrived today in Baghdad and met with Abadi. He is due to visit the Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani on Sunday.

According to the reports, Hadithi has also said that Yildirim has promised Abadi that Turkey will pull back its forces from Bashiqa Camp in Nineveh province.

The establishment of the camp, which is reportedly used to train paramilitary Sunni Arab forces, led to tough words exchanged on media channels between Ankara and Baghdad.

Initially, Ankara said the forces are to guard the Turkmen minority, which Baghdad regarded as an infringement on its territorial sovereignty.

At the same time, the PKK's evident existence inside the Iraqi borders, in the bordering town of Sinjar in the volatile Nineveh province, was severely opposed and criticized by Turkey.

It has been for decades since the PKK took shelter in the Qandil Mount, at a triangular area bordering Iran, Turkey and Iraq.

Turkish jets and artillery have repeatedly shelled the PKK bases in this triangular area and sometimes the Turkish Army has even trespassed the borders into Iraqi soil.




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