PKK set to fight against Islamists in Iraq

The fall of Mosul into the hands of Islamist militants, led by the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), has the potential to ignite a region-wide war, with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announcing that its militants are ready to fight the Islamists together with the peshmerga.

ISIL made clear yesterday its stance against Turkey by raiding the Turkish Consulate in Mosul and the abduction of the consul general and other diplomatic staff. The jihadist group’s view against the Shiite Alevis was already clear: They can be killed, and ruthlessly.

Proudly posting its murders and beheadings of civilians, who they say are guilty of being Shiite, on the social media, ISIL has also been fighting against the Kurdish groups, mainly the People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Syria’s north.

The jihadist group’s advance in northern Iraq has prompted fierce reaction from Kurdish groups, especially from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). KRG Prime Minster Necirvan Barzani blamed the central government for the crisis, while also ordering the peshmerga to be ready for fighting.

The PKK, which has a strong presence of armed militants in Iraqi Kurdistan, announced yesterday that its militants are ready to fight alongside the peshmerga against ISIL. With the YPG, an offshoot of the PKK, fighting against the Islamist group in Syria, the PKK’s move does not come as a surprise. But it came at a time of high tensions between the KRG and the armed Kurdish group.

The KRG refused to recognize and help the de facto Kurdish autonomous region in northern Syria, drawing reactions from other Kurdish groups. Additionally, the security forces of the KRG raided in May the offices of some media outlets with close links...