'Turkey ready to support clearing Sinjar of terrorists'

Turkey is closely following developments in Iraq's Sinjar district, the Turkish defense minister said Wednesday, stressing that Ankara is ready to support clearing the region of terrorists.

"Turkey is ready to provide support for eliminating terrorists in Iraq’s Sinjar region if needed," Hulusi Akar said following his official visit to Iraq.

He noted that Turkey-Iraq, as well as Turkey-Erbil cooperation will bring important developments in the coming period in fighting terrorism.

"We can say that we are determined to end the terrorists as a result of our cooperation with both the regional administration and Baghdad," he added.

Iraqi security forces started to implement a deployment plan on Dec. 1 in the center of the Sinjar district of Iraq's Nineveh province to enhance stability and security in the area and enable displaced locals to return home.

The Sinjar deal, inked under the auspices of the UN on the status of the region, seeks to clear the region of the PKK terrorists.

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

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.