SULAIMANI (ESTA) — U.S. military intelligence believes Iran-backed Shia militias carried out rocket attacks against Turkish troops in northern Iraq in coordination with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), according to a report released by Pentagon inspector general on Tuesday.
A military base that hosts the Turkish troops near Zilkan, northwest of Mosul, has come under rocket attack in the past year.
The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) said in a declassified report that the militias were behind increasing attacks on Turkish troops in both Iraq and Syria, according to Al-Monitor.
It further said some of the attacks in Iraq were carried out “in cooperation with the PKK”.
“Following Turkish airstrikes in February that targeted the PKK in northern Iraq, a new Iran-aligned militia group conducted a rocket attack against a Turkish expeditionary base north of Mosul,” the DIA report said, according to Al-Monitor.
“The DIA assessed that the militias probably will continue to coordinate with the PKK, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, in response to Turkish air and UAV strikes on PKK positions.”
Iran-backed Shia militias have publicly condemned Turkish operations targeting the PKK from mountains of the Kurdistan Region, citing violations of Iraq’s sovereignty.
