ERBIL - After Thursday's Turkish airstrikes against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Sulaimaniya province, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) is now suspected of sharing intelligence information with Ankara.

A drone earlier the day targeted a vehicle said to be driven by PKK members in Sulaimaniya province where the PUK is dominant, leaving several people either killed or severely wounded.

Soon after the incident, unofficial social media pages linked with the PUK began to hurl the accusations at the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) while a few weeks ago Facebook announced the closure of hundreds of PUK-affliated pages for defamation and false reporting.

According to the information BasNews has obtained, a new phase of relations between the PUK and Turkey has started since late 2018, with the head of the Zanyari intelligence agency, Lahur Shiekh Jangi, attempting to keep these ties strong.

Speaking to BasNews, Diyar Mufti, a former member of PUK central council, noted that it was not clear if the PUK was aware of Thursday's airstrikes but that there could be some people inside the party to work with Turkey against the PKK.

He also admitted that the Turkish Intelligence Organization (MIT) has people in Sulaimaniya province while the PUK has remained silent in this regard.

Mohammed Amin Penjweni, a Kurdish politician known to be close to the PKK, spoke to BasNews and revealed that "Turkey's MIT has headquarters in the province of Sulaimaniya."

He reminded that this is not the first time that PKK leaders are targeted in Sulaimaniya province.

BasNews