Iraqi security committee meets ahead of Turkey visit

BAGHDAD — The Iraqi Supreme Security Committee convened to discuss key security issues, including ‘counterterrorism efforts’, in preparation for its upcoming visit to Turkey.

Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein led the meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday. According to a statement from the Iraqi foreign ministry, the discussions centered on crucial security and military matters between Iraq and Turkey, with a focus on counterterrorism efforts and strategies to bolster mutual security cooperation.

Iraq has recently taken steps against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known by its Kurdish initialism PKK.

The meeting was attended by Defense Minister Thabet Al-Abbasi, National Security Advisor Qasim Al-Araji, Kurdistan Region Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed, and the head of the Iraqi Intelligence Service. The Kurdistan Region Government also perceives the PKK’s presence and activities within its territory as destabilizing.

During Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Iraq in April 2024, discussions heavily focused on the PKK and related security concerns. Erdogan’s visit, his first to Iraq since 2011, aimed to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in combatting the PKK, which Turkey, the U.S., and the EU designate as a terrorist organization.

Erdogan emphasized the need for Iraq to take stronger action against the PKK and sought to formalize security measures, including the potential establishment of a joint operations room to coordinate efforts against the group. Despite ongoing Turkish military operations in northern Iraq against PKK militants, Baghdad has often criticized these actions as violations of Iraqi sovereignty. However, Erdogan insisted that Turkey’s actions were necessary due to Baghdad’s perceived inaction.

The committee’s visit comes amid intensified Turkish military operations against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party in the Kurdistan region, particularly in the Amedi district of Duhok Governorate. These operations have led to the evacuation of several villages in the area.

The Community Peacemaker Teams, a U.S.-based war monitor said on August 8 that “Turkish Armed Forces have advanced 15 kms into Iraqi Kurdistan territory.”

On Aug. 6, the Supreme Judicial Council announced the dissolution of three political parties— the Yazidi Freedom and Democracy Party, the Democratic Struggle Front, and the Kurdistan Freedom Movement—due to alleged affiliations with the PKK. The council also ordered the closure of their offices and the confiscation of their assets. However, this decision is subject to appeal.

Earlier, on March 14, following discussions between Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Fuad Hussein, Iraq’s National Security Council banned the PKK from operating in the country. On July 23, the Iraqi government instructed all state institutions to refer to the PKK as a ‘banned organization’ in official correspondence.