ANKARA, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Saturday that the military operation against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Iraq's Qandil is "a matter of timing."
"We can seize Qandil anytime we want. We have made our preparations on the Agri-Van-Igdir line. Our heroes will be in Qandil soon," Soylu said during an interview with private broadcaster CNNTurk.
On late Friday, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim confirmed that the Turkish military has pushed 30 km into northern Iraq.
"Our troops have been deployed in 30 km deep in northern Iraq. It's maybe beyond Qandil, Makhmur or Sinjar," Yildirim said in a live interview on local NTV news channel.
Asked if there will be cooperation with Iran and Iraq over the operation in Qandil, he gave a positive answer.
"I don't think we will have any problem (on this issue)," the prime minister said.
Following the Operation Olive Branch in Syria, Turkish forces now have penetrated into northern Iraq to target the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Ankara.
Located 40 km southeast of the Turkish border with Iraq's Erbil Province, the Qandil Mountains are being used as the headquarters of PKK militants.
The militant group frequently carries out attacks on Turkey from its camps in the Qandil Mountains. In response, Turkey has been conducting land operations near the border and airstrikes against PKK targets since March.
