Turkish and Iranian officials met in late May in the southeastern Anatolian province of Hakkari for talks over joint operations against terrorist activities along the border, said the report released on Wednesday by a London-based think tank, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
ANKARA – Turkish Daily News
Turkey has been exerting joint efforts with neighboring Iran in the fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), an international report indicated.
Turkish and Iranian officials met in late May in the southeastern Anatolian province of Hakkari for talks over joint operations against terrorist activities along the border, said the report released on Wednesday by a London-based think tank, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
But it noted Iraqi officials have not so far been involved in such talks, despite northern Iraq-based PKK terrorists attacks in Turkey. Iran is fighting the Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK), the Iranian wing of the PKK.
The Military Balance 2007 report presents an annual assessment of the military capabilities and defense economics of 170 countries world-wide. In its 2007 Chart of Conflict that gives a comprehensive overview of non-state armed activity throughout the world, the report said that the Turkish government has continued efforts in the face of ongoing attacks from northern Iraq, stating that Turkey has also continued a joint fight with Tehran against the PKK.
The IISS report also highlighted claims that the PKK was planning terrorist attacks against chosen targets using remote-controlled model aircraft. The report based the claims on Turkish intelligence sources. Under the chapter on national terrorism, the report noted PKK bomb attacks last summer in Turkey.
