Turkish Soldiers Kurdish Fighters

Kurdish militant group PKK to disband, disarm in peace move with Turkiye

A Kurdish militant group announced a historic decision Monday to disband and disarm as part of a new peace initiative with Turkiye, after four decades of armed conflict. The decision by the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, was announced by the Firat News Agency, a media outlet close to the group. It comes days after it convened a party congress in northern Iraq. In February, PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been imprisoned on an island near Istanbul since 1999, urged his group to convene a congress and formally decide to disband, marking a pivotal step toward ending the decades-long conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives since the 1980s. On March 1, the PKK announced a unilateral ceasefire, but attached conditions, including the creation of a legal framework for peace negotiations. The group has led an armed insurgency since 1984 that has left claimed tens of thousands of lives. It is listed as a terror group by Turkiye and its Western allies.

Turkey removes 3 pro-Kurdish mayors, replaces them with state officials

Turkiye on Monday removed three elected pro-Kurdish mayors from office over terrorism-related charges and replaced them with state-appointed officials, the Interior Ministry said. The move, which comes days after the arrest and ouster from office of a mayor from the country's main opposition party for his alleged links to a banned Kurdish militant group, is seen as a hardening of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government's policies toward the opposition. It also raises questions about the prospects of a tentative new peace effort to end a 40-year conflict between the militant group and the state that has led to tens of thousands of deaths. The mayors of the mainly Kurdish-populated provincial capitals of Mardin and Batman, as well as the district mayor for Halfeti, in Sanliurfa province, were ousted from office over their past convictions or ongoing trials and investigations for links to the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, according to an Interior Ministry statement. The

Turkey blames Kurdish rebels PKK for Ankara terror attack: Who are they?

Turkey targeted over 30 sites of the PKK militant group in Iraq and Syria after suspected Kurdish militants set off explosives and opened fire at state-run defence company TUSAS in Ankara

Turkish drone strikes kill 4 US-backed fighters in Syria: Kurdish group

Turkish drone strikes in northeastern Syria on Friday evening killed four US-backed fighters and wounded 11 civilians, the Kurdish-led force said. The strikes on areas held by the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces came a day after Turkiye's president said his government won't hesitate to act against Kurdish-led groups in northern Syria if they proceed with plans to hold local elections. It accuses the groups of having links to outlawed Kurdish militants in Turkiye. The SDF said drone strikes hit its positions eight times as well as civilian homes and vehicles in and near the northern city of Qamishli. Such Turkish strikes are not uncommon in northeastern Syria. The Kurdish Red Crescent said that as its paramedics were trying to reach the attacked areas, a Turkish strike hit one of its ambulances, putting it out of service. It said the attack occurred near the town of Amouda, west of Qamishli. There was no immediate comment from Turkiye. The Kurdish-led autonomous

As talks with Kurds fail, Iraq repairs pipeline to supply oil to Turkey

The reopening of the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, which has been shut for a decade, would provide a rival route to a pipeline from the Kurdistan region that has been shut for a year

12 Turkish soldiers killed over 2 days in clashes with Kurdish militants

Six Turkish soldiers were killed on Saturday in clashes with Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, a day after another six were also killed. The six soldiers slain on Saturday died in a firefight when militants attempted to infiltrate a Turkish base, according to a statement by the Turkish Defense Ministry. The statement said 13 militants had been neutralized. In addition to the six Turkish soldiers killed on Friday, four militants were slain, authorities said. Turkey conducts operations and airstrikes against targets in Syria and Iraq that it believes to be affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, a banned Kurdish separatist group that has waged an insurgency against Turkey since the 1980s. Ankara maintains that PKK has sanctuaries in northern Iraq, where its leadership is also purportedly based. The PKK is considered a terror organisation by the United States and the European Union. Tens of thousands of people have died since the start of the conflict in 1984.

Russian army chief in Syria meets Kurdish commander amid threats by Turkey

The chief of Russian forces in Syria has met with a Kurdish commander over threats by Turkey to launch a new incursion into northern Syria, a Kurdish spokesman and an Arab TV station said Monday. Siamand Ali, a spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, confirmed to The Associated Press that Lt. Gen. Alexander Chaiko met Sunday with Kurdish commander Mazloum Abdi in northeast Syria, adding that he has no details about what they discussed. Chaiko's trip to the northeast came days after Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to order a land invasion of northern Syria targeting Kurdish groups following the Nov. 3, explosion in Istanbul that killed six people and wounded dozens. Russia has called for de-escalation along the Turkey-Syria border. Turkey has launched a barrage of airstrikes on suspected militant targets in northern Syria and Iraq over the past week, in retaliation for the Istanbul bombing that Ankara blames on the Kurdish groups. The groups have denied

Turkish warplanes hit Kurdish militant targets in Iraq, Syria,: Ministry

All the planes taking part in the operation, which it said targeted the areas of Derik, Sincar and Karacak, subsequently returned to their bases

Atleast six Turkish soldiers killed in attack by Kurdish PKK militants

Those killed were locals employed to combat Kurdish militants