Turkey’s success in eliminating the PKK in the region will determine its future in Sinjar and Mosul.
Riza Altun – top aide to PKK leader Cemil Bayik – was critically wounded in a March 21 joint operation between Turkey's military and intelligence agency that targeted the terrorist group in the Qandil mountains, near Iraq's border with Iran.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently vowed to "drain the terror swamp" in Qandil, as Turkey ramped up its assault on terror sites across its southern border.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is quoted by local media as saying the joint cross-border operation with Iraq may start after it holds parliamentary elections scheduled for May 2018.
Iraqi Vice President Osama al-Nujaifi says Baghdad no longer pays salaries to PKK fighters in Sinjar after reaching a deal with Turkey.
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