ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Turkish government is coordinating with Iraqi authorities to obtain details related to the Iraqi army downing a drone in the northern city of Kirkuk on Thursday, the Turkish foreign ministry spokesperson said. Baghdad said the drone belongs to Ankara. “Coordination has been established with Iraqi authorities to shed light on all the details of the incident,” Oncu Keceli said in a post on X hours after Iraqi forces said a Turkish drone fell in Kirkuk city. Iraq has issued contradicting statements regarding the incident. Abdulsalam Ramadhan, deputy air defense commander for Kirkuk, told reporters at the site that “Iraqi air defense teams shot down a Turkish drone coming from the direction of Sulaimani.” However, Iraq’s security media cell in a later statement indicated that it was still unknown what brought down the Turkish drone. The drone was spotted at 9:30 am in the skies above Kirkuk but was “observed crashing inside the city at 10:30 am,” stated the media cell, adding that a technical team was formed to “determine the causes of the crash and the circumstances of the incident.” The drone was flying over a sensitive area that includes government buildings, key economic centres, and the United States-led global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS), according to the media cell. Turkish drones often target alleged Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) positions inside the Kurdistan Region, including in Sulaimani, which borders Kirkuk. Since mid-June, Ankara has intensified its military activities inside the Kurdistan Region and built new military bases in Duhok, deploying hundreds of troops to the province. A number of villages have been abandoned, as farmers have watched their livelihoods go up in flames sparked by the conflict. Keceli said on Thursday that Turkey is determined to fight the PKK, which is “nestled in Iraqi territory,” and added that there is a “strong and common will” between Ankara and Baghdad to fight the Kurdish group. Baghdad earlier this year labeled the PKK a “banned organization” and signed a security cooperation deal with Ankara. A memorandum of understanding signed between them on August 15 is the product of their joint fight against the PKK, according to Keceli. “Both countries are determined to ensure that this cooperation yields concrete results on the field and to increase coordination between competent authorities for this purpose,” he said. The agreement includes an article that stipulates that Turkey should withdraw troops from Iraqi soil, but the Turkish presidency said last Thursday that Ankara has no plan to end its troops presence across the border.
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