PKK terrorists dug cross-border tunnel between Iraq and Syria - official

The PKK terrorist organization has dug a tunnel under the northern Iraq-Syria border to transport weapons, explosives, and members, according to an Iraqi Kurdish official.

Some 300,000 concrete blocks were used in the construction of the tunnel that stretches from under the Sinjar region in northwestern Iraq to Hasakah in Syria, said Halef Halil, an official of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).

"The PKK dug a 12-kilometer (7.4 miles) tunnel between the valley of the mountainous Bare region of Sinjar and the al-Hol region of Syria's Hasakah province," he told Anadolu Agency.

Halil went on to say that the terrorist organization was preparing to send a large number of militants to Syria, adding that pro-government Hashd al-Shaabi militias was aware of the PKK's activities but has not interfered.

"The Hashd al-Shaabi and the PKK are both linked to a state in the region ... Both are making efforts to prevent the deal on Sinjar between Erbil and Baghdad from being implemented," he noted.

In October 2020, the Iraqi federal government and Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq signed an agreement to preserve security in Sinjar by the Iraqi federal security forces in coordination with the KRG Peshmerga forces.

Halil also asserted that the Hashd al-Shaabi provide military and food for the PKK terrorists, as well as their monthly salary.

Haydar Shesho, an Ezidi military commander in northern Iraq, also pointed out the close cooperation between the two groups.

The PKK cannot use any road in the region without the approval of the Hashd al-Shaabi, said Shesho, adding that the milita knew of the PKK's cross-border tunnelling.

He also underlined that the PKK had dug 300-400 meters (about 985-1,310 feet) of tunnels under Sinjar's mountainous regions.

The PKK terrorist organization managed to establish a foothold in Sinjar in 2014 under the pretext of protecting the Ezidi community from Daesh/ISIS terrorists.

Sinjar has a strategic position as it is some 120 kilometers (74 miles) from Mosul, a regional urban center, and is also near the Turkish-Syrian border.

The terror group aims to create a corridor between PKK/YPG terrorists in northern Syria and Iraq's northern Qandil region.

Qandil is the base of PKK terror group, while the YPG is the group's Syrian branch.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the U.S., and EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.