Türkiye, Iraq to set up two military centers to fight terror

ANKARA

Türkiye and Iraq have signed a landmark agreement on military and security issues, which includes establishing two military centers

— one in Baghdad and the other in Bashika — to enhance coordination in the fight against PKK terrorism in Iraqi territory.

A memorandum of understanding on military, security and anti-terror combat was signed on Aug. 15 between the two countries’ defense ministers following the fourth High-Level Security Mechanism in the Turkish capital with the participation of senior Turkish and Iraqi civilian and military officials.

At a press conference after the meeting, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein announced the signing of what they called the historic agreement and vowed to continue to further deepen and institutionalize the bilateral ties in all fields, including security, energy, electricity, agriculture, water, transportation and other relevant issues.

“We believe that we will take our cooperation to the next level through the Joint Coordination and Training Centers foreseen in this agreement. We wish to advance the unity of understanding we are developing with Iraq in the fight against terrorism with concrete steps on the field,” Fidan said.

As part of the agreement, Türkiye and Iraq will establish a Joint Security Coordination Center in Baghdad which will focus on improving security cooperation between the two countries, particularly on terrorism. But it will also coordinate what the two countries can do regarding organized crime, especially drug and human trafficking.

The second center will be established in Bashika, near Mosul, dubbed the Joint Training and Cooperation Center. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hussein stressed that the base in Bashika will be under the control of the Iraqi armed forces. The base was used by the Turkish army in the past decade against the threat posed by PKK and ISIL.

“We had similar agreements in the past, especially in the 1980s but I can say that the agreement we signed today is the first of its kind,” Hussein told reporters. PKK presence is not only a threat to Türkiye but also to the Iraqi democratic process and the Iraqi people, the foreign minister said, recalling that an Iraqi court has recently banned three political parties linked with PKK.

“This is a clear message that PKK presence is unacceptable in Iraq,” the minister suggested.

Türkiye and Iraq had developed an intense cooperation in the field of security since late 2023. Iraq designated the PKK as a banned political party in Iraq and has taken action against it. Türkiye expects PKK to be listed as a terror organization in Iraq.

In the meantime, Fidan announced that Türkiye will waive visas for Iraqi nationals under the age of 15 and those over the age of 50. It will be implemented from September this year.