Turkey may soon start an operation against the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Iraq's Qandil Mountains, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said Monday, ahead of June 24 presidential and parliamentary elections.
"Qandil is not a distant target for us anymore. Right now, a lot of positions have been seized there [by Turkish forces], especially in the northern Iraq region," Soylu told the state-run Anadolu Agency in a televised interview.
"It is not a matter of operation, but a matter of timing. Qandil is no longer a faraway goal for us," Soylu said.
The main base of the PKK is reportedly located in the Qandil Mountains, an Iraqi mountainous area near the Iranian border.
According to the minister, several strategic points have already been seized along the Hakurk line.
Government Spokesperson and Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ also said later Monday that Turkey had the right to carry out operations against PKK militants in northern Iraq's Qandil region, and will do so any time it deems necessary.
