Turkish Defense Min: Sinjar won’t be new PKK stronghold

<p>By Muhammet Emin Avundukluoglu</p> <p>ANKARA (AA) – Turkey’s defense minister said Tuesday that Iraq’s Sinjar region will not be allowed to become a new stronghold for the PKK terror group.</p> <p>&quot;We expect the Iraqi government to cooperate with us in ending the separatist PKK terror group’s presence in Iraqi territories,&quot; said Hulusi Akar during his budget speech in parliament.</p> <p>Akar noted that Turkey respects the territorial integrity of Syria, Iraq and its neighbors.</p> <p>&quot;However, for the security of the country and the nation, our operations will continue until the PKK terror group has been completely defeated in the locations they exist in Iraq,&quot; said Akar.</p> <p>Northern Iraq's Sinjar region “will never be allowed to become a new [Mt.] Qandil&quot;, he added.</p> <p>The terrorist PKK has its main base in the Mt. Qandil region, which is located near the Turkish border.</p> <p>On Thursday, the Turkish Armed Forces dealt a heavy blow to the PKK terror group in the Sinjar and Mt. Karajak regions.</p> In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU — has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people, including women and children.