UPDATE: Foiled spy plot strains Turkey-KRG relations
PKK abducts four Turkish agents in Sulaimaniya who were allegedly targeting the group's leader, elevating tensions ahead of the KRG's controversial independence referendum.
UPDATE: This story has been updated to include comment and perspective from a Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) official, who disputed some key allegations by PUK officials about the spy maneuvers that led to the abduction of the Turkish agents.
SULAIMANIYA - The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has captured four Turkish intelligence operatives in Sulaimaniya after they allegedly attempted to arrest or assassinate a top leader of the Kurdish guerrilla group.
The incident is putting an acute strain on relations between Iraqi Kurds and the Turkish government at a critical moment. Ankara has already expressed opposition to a Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) independence referendum scheduled for Sept. 25, largely for fear that it would bolster Kurdish separatists like the PKK in Turkey.
Login to your account
Subscribe for news access
Annual News subscribers receive access to the full archive of Iraq Oil Report articles.
