We are aware of counter-terrorist operations by the Turkish security forces close to Turkey’s border with northern Iraq. This is in response to a series of recent attacks by the Kurdish separatist group, the Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan (PKK) against military and civilian targets in Turkey which have caused a significant number of fatalities.
We utterly condemn the attacks carried out by the PKK, as we do all acts of terrorism. We encourage Turkey to engage with the Iraqi Government, and the Kurdish regional government, to address the PKK presence in northern Iraq and we welcome the ongoing trilateral co-operation between Turkey, Iraq and the US.