14 March 2017•Update: 15 March 2017
ANKARA
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi over the phone on Tuesday about the fight against the Daesh terror group, according to the Prime Ministry's press office in Ankara.
Yildirim said Turkey's contribution to the international coalition in the fight against Daesh would continue.
He also expressed Turkey's position and expectations in the fight against terror, particularly against the PKK/PYD.
Abadi also said Iraq would not let any threat reach Turkey from Iraqi territory.
In mid-February, Iraqi forces -- backed by a U.S.-led air coalition -- began new operations aimed at dislodging Daesh terrorists from western Mosul.
The offensive came as part of a wider campaign launched last October to retake the entire city, which Daesh overran in mid-2014.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU.
Since the group resumed its armed campaign in July 2015, more than 1,200 people, including security force personnel and civilians, have lost their lives.
The PYD is a Syrian offshoot of the PKK. While Turkey considers PYD/YPG as Syrian affiliates of the PKK, neither the EU nor the U.S. regard the groups as its offshoots.
*Reporting by Sinan Uslu; Writing by Fatma Bulbul
