Arbil to be center of joint committee between Turkey, Iraq and U.S.

"There is a trilateral mechanism established by us, Turkey and the United States. We want to form a joint command center in Arbil," Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan in Ankara.

Turkey, Iraq and the U.S. in November formed a joint committee to combat the PKK after holding three-way talks in Baghdad as part of efforts to boost cooperation against the terrorists.

Turkey, who stepped up its campaign to crackdown on the terror organization PKK, has long blamed the Kurdish administration in northern Iraq for supporting the PKK.

The center will include intelligence officials from Turkey, Iraq and the United States. The Iraqi delegation will also include Intelligence officials from northern Iraq.

The center aims to urgently take the necessary measures against the terror organization PKK. Arbil was selected as center of the committee in order to facilitate intelligence-sharing in the region, Turkish officials told hurriyet.com.tr.
Hurriyet