Turkish Army plans to expand military operations to Iraqi borders: Report
Shares
TEHRAN (FNA)- The Turkish Army plans to expand the scope of its military operations against the Kurdish forces to cover areas at the border with Iraq in Eastern Syria after Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu held meetings with senior Iraqi officials, the Arabic-language media reported.
During the meetings, the Turkish foreign minister has discussed PKK's presence in Sinjar and the military base recently set up by the group to launch attacks on Turkish territories, the Arabic-language Sputnik news agency quoted unnamed informed sources as saying.
The sources said that the Turkish and Iraqi officials also voiced their concern over the US support for the Kurdish groups stationed along Syria-Turkey borders and some border regions along the Turkey-Iraq-Syria triangle.
Meantime, Deputy Head of Security Research Center Emad Olov said the meeting was linked to the military operations in Afrin region.
Olov reiterated that the Turkish military operation underway against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) will expand to the Iraqi borders.
In a relevant development on Monday, a Turkish media outlet reported that the Turkish armed forces have advanced into Azaz region East of Afrin within the framework of the Olive Branch Operation in Northern Syria.
The state-run Anadolu news agency reported that the Turkish army has continued its ground assault as the Olive Branch Operation entered its third day.
Anadolu said that the army men have advanced into the Azaz region too to expand the scope of the operation.
President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Turkey would not take a step back from the operation in the Afrin region. He also said that Ankara had an agreement with Russia regarding its military operation against a US-backed Kurdish militia.
Speaking at an Ankara Chamber of Commerce awards ceremony, Erdogan stressed that he wants to support the national security and territorial integrity of Syria as Turkey “has no designs on territories of another country.”
