Turkey to pursue campaign against Kurdish group PKK in Iraq, Syria

Turkey will continue its military operations in northern Iraq and Syria against Kurdish PKK rebels so as to "eliminate" their threat, President Recep Tayip Erdogan promised on Tuesday.

"We are preventing the terrorists who live on our borders from breathing," said Erdogan.

"Until the establishment of a country and a region without terror, we will continue this combat in several dimensions," the president insisted as he cited the ongoing operations in an address to mark the 101st anniversary of the Turkish republic.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends a Republic Day ceremony at Anitkabir, the mausoleum of modern Turkey's founder Ataturk, to mark the republic's 101st anniversary, in Ankara, Turkey, October 29, 2024.Reuters

"Where we detect a threat to our country, both within and outside our borders, nobody can prevent us from eliminating it," Erdogan continued, saying he would stop at nothing to do so and "end terrorism".

Group behind Ankara attack

The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged an on-off insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, is designated as a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies.

The PKK claimed it was behind last week's attack on the headquarters of Turkey's state-owned defense firm in Ankara, which killed five people and wounded 22.

Erdogan dubbed last Wednesday's attack as "the last efforts" of the separatist organization.

Projecting power

"We are now able to develop the weapons we need in the fight against terror and we do not require anyone's permission," Erdogan added.

The head of state said that Turkey was in the process of equipping itself with "an iron dome" anti-aircraft defense system similar to one which Israel has, "but made of steel".

He added that Turkey had also become "the world's largest manufacturer of drones" and that "since 2018, 65 percent of the sales of armed drones in the world have been made by Turkish companies."

Turkey has been accused of targeting Kurdish civilians in cross-border strikes, a charge the army denies.