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On October 26, Turkey’s Customs Minister Bulent Tufenkci told the Turkish Anadolu Agency that Ankara and Baghdad agreed to open a new border crossing in Ovaköy area north of the Iraqi city of Mosul.
“I had the impression that the Iraqi government agrees that there should be a second border gate,” Tufenkci said.
Tufenkci said that Tukey and Iraq will have to provide extra security measures because both ISIS and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) are operating near Ovaköy area. However, the Turkish minister stressed that once these threats are addressed there will be no other obstacle for Turkey and Iraq.
The Iraqi Army already began advancing towards the Iraqi-Turkish border area north of Mosul. On October 26, the Iraqi Army secured Omar Khaled, Ain Uways, Al-Jazronia and Ahmad Agha villages only 20km away from the Iraqi-Turkish border.
During its advance, the Iraqi Army effectively cut off the road to the Suwaidia border crossing on the Syrian-Iraqi border. The border crossing is run by the Kurdish Peshmerga force in Iraq, and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Syria.
Back on October 25, the Kurdistan Security Council said that the Iraqi Army is about to launch an attack to capture the Faysh Khabur border crossing north of the Suwaidia border crossing. Faysh Khabur is considered the last operational border crossing between the SDF and the Iraqi Kurdistan Region. Moreover, the US-led coalition mainly uses the Faysh Khabur border crossing to supply the SDF and its forces inside Syria.
Imminent attack expected by Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed PMF on Peshmerga in NW Mosul despite KRG’s calls for talks. Statement soon.
— KR Security Council (@KRSCPress) October 25, 2017
While the US-led coalition could easily resupply its forces inside Syria by airplanes, the loss of the border crossing will likely have a catastrophic effect on the SDF.
It is already reported that fighters of the SDF participated in clashes against the Iraqi Army near Suwaidia. Local sources confirmed that at least 3 Syrian SDF fighters were killed during the clashes near Suwaidia:
-Aldar Huas Nader from Afrin city;
-Hanan Abd al-Ruhman Hanan from Afrin city;
-Rudi Mohamad Saleh from al- Darbasiyah.
The SDF intervention against the Iraqi Army is not a surprise considering that the SDF has been adopting a very aggressive agenda against all non-Kurdish sides in the region lately.
This aggressive behavior of the SDF became notable after the US-led shot down a Syrian Air Force warplane that the SDF accused of bombing its position in the southern Raqqa countryside on June 18. The SDF likely considered the US-led coalition action as a “green light” to attack any side that oppose its agenda.
However, the Iraqi Army will likely capture both Faysh Khabur and Suwaidia border crossing border crossing, and even secure the new border crossing with Turkey. As for the SDF, like the Kurdistan Region Government (KRG) in Iraq, it will likely face the consequences of its poor planning at some point.
SDF are predominantly ISIS terrorists with SDF masks or vice-versa according to convenience. The confortable proximity of the SDF, the Peshmerga and their ‘ISIS brothers’ continue to prove that these terror outfits are all one and the same US/Zionist terror, anti Syrian government, coalition.
I don’t think they started off with that intention; well many of the fighters didn’t anyway.
SDF/ISIL/KRG ARE ALL IN SAME LEAGUE WITH US ZIONIST . BORDER BETWEEN SYRIA AND IRAQ RUN BY THIS SDF/KRG HAS TO CUT OF BY IRAQI ARMY AND ALSO TO OPEN BORDER WITH TURKEY. ONCE THIS HAS DONE TURKEY WILL DO EVERYTHING TO MAKE SURE SDF/PKK WILL NOT GET ANY SUPPLY ROUTE FROM GROUND. SDF/KRG HAS BECOME SALVE OF ZIONIST
Tip: all caps usually means you are shouting when posting.
Maybe you intended to post a rant?
Nice name this Bulent Tufenkci: Tall Gunman.
Capturing Faysh Khabur made Barzani sleepless, releasing a statement at 3 in the morning.
We’ll see the true faces of these idiots soon enough. Biting the hands of the ones who welcomed them, helped them and gave them many things.
You can’t smile to some people, can’t be hospitable or welcoming and definitely can’t be generous towards them because they mistake it for your weakness. I think that’s a cultural thing.
Turk propaganda is especially unreliable.
Any propaganda is unreliable.
Wars have ways been subjects of propaganda doing back to Rameses II describing his battles with the Hittites.
The Syrian Civil War is probably the 1st war where citizens with smart phones are able to post videos and reports on social media like twitter, so channization has been diffused.
Bu we also see a kaleidoscope of interests and biased reporting.
Funniest was when Chris Tomlinson deviated from Syrian Government propaganda and AMN refers revolted because they weren’t used to seeing SAA losses reported.
Syrian war is not a civil war, at least not yet.
It is a war imposed by a country by foreign governments through foreign mercenaries.
Pretty sure if you are dropping barrel bombs on civilians it’s a civil war, no matter who started it.
Tell me something which you can prove. Go ahead and show me when and where it happened and who did it.
Literally multitudes of reports and video clips of SAA dropping barrel bombs from helicopters over several years time.
Try google.
No I won’t.
You need to prove what you said not me. Kindly use Google yourself and give us the results, a couple of those multitude of reports and videos would suffice.
I’ll shut my mouth if I see a footage of SAA aircraft dropping a barrel bomb over civilians. Promise.
I thought bulent was an albanian name . I thought turkish for tall was uzun?
It is, Bulent is a name, uzun is an adjective.
Bulent came from Persian “boland”, which is just an adjective with the same meaning.
Thank you. That was very interesting.
Despite repeated Iraqi propaganda the past few days, the KRG still holds Fish Khabour which is located with in the Iraqi Constitution 2003 KRG Autonomous Zone.
The Iraqi Hashd PMU have taken significant losses and haven’t advanced.
Kurds Rudaw reports a ceasefire but no confirmation yet from anyone else.
Coalition has been pressuring Iraq to Ceasefire and Respect 2003 KRG borders.
But uncertain if Iraqi Abadi has any actual control over Iranian led Hashd PMU.
Are still banging the same old tired, worn out drum ?.
Your lot broke the “KRG still holds Fish Khabour which is located with in the Iraqi Constitution 2003 KRG Autonomous Zone”, when you expanded with impervious arrogance as little lap dogs for your masters (who by the way despise you behind the nice smile).
You reap what you have sowed, if the Iraqis and Syrians have any sense, the autonomous regional borders for the kurds will be shrunken down in direct proportion to what they deserve.
“Your Lot”
What are you talking about?
I am not Kurdish and definitely not a supporter of KRG Barzani, who is a Tukish Puppet & Dictator.
Also the PUK Talabanis and traitors.
Also, I wouldn’t be at all disappointed if the Kurds revolted and executed both the Barzanis & Talabanis.
The late Talebani’s 100 years old rotten corpse is still a thousandfold of a man Barzani ever hopes to be.
True. The late Mam Talebani would never have betrayed Kirkuk like his wife & son did.
60 years of his life’s work undone in 45 minutes.
The Mam Jalal I know and the one you know seem to be different people.
The one I knew wouldn’t betray Iraq and it’s people, including Kurds.
J Talebani most famous quote, “The Kurdish people have the right of self determination like every other free people in the world.”
Yes he did and I believe that too. But he also believed in the territorial integrity of Iraq.
He would never allow such a land grab as KRG did, if he was not so ill.
Turkish ?
Spell Czeker.
LOL. Got it.
Are you talking about the same constitution that states border crossings are the federal government’s responsibility?
At most that That only means a handful of border guards and customs agents; definitely Not an army of Iranian backed militias occupying KRG Provinces.
Did you have the same problem when KRG’s militia occupied the territory which didn’t belong to them?
In this case, an army is needed because KRG is not satisfied with what’s within it’s rights. It’s also worth mentioning that Iraqi government has every right to ask any entity it sees fit for help.
Do you guarantee that your brave Peshmerga won’t ambush and murder them if Iraq sends just “a handful of border guards and custom agents”?
1. If they were “my Peshmerga” they would have arrested Barzani and his family by now.
2. Don’t know. But that would have been the reasonable 1st step is to send a bus load of customs agents escorted by a couple of cars of federal police instead of an armored regiment and thousands of off book militia.
3. It’s probably illegal under IraqI law or any law for Turkish Puppet KRG Barzani to create a Blockade of Rojava. So he should be arrested for that crime.
1- Then pity they aren’t yours. This madness could be avoided, probably.
2- Iraq did a better thing: They politely asked KRG to do that which KRG arrogantly declined.
3- I really doubt that Barzani is a Turkish puppet. Based on the countless articles and pictures showing him with known Israeli intelligence chiefs and staff. But it’s entirely legal for Iraqi federal government to control border crossings and open or close the border as they see fit.
3. I said it was illegal for KRG BarzanI to do it.
I never said illegal for Iraq to open or close border.
Then I misunderstood you, I apologize.
SDF hope of being defend is gone.If the real war start USA will choose the wining side meaning SDF will be eliminate by peaceful Arabs because of SDF foolishness.
During Iraq Iran war USA was siding with Sadam but laterturn against him and kill him.USA train and educate Gaddafi sided with him if he pressure Arabs.USA supported him but when he abandone nuclear weapons and start trading with Russia USA turn against him and killed him.Maliki was appointed by USA but when he start seeing the true colors of USA their turn against him.USA used Mubarak to speak on behalf of besieged leader Arafat but later turns against Mubarak.Even previous apartheid government of South Africa and Jona Savimbi.USA will also betray Israel.