Analysis: Why is the Military Operation in Gara Mountain Going to be Turkey's Most Significant?

According to reports from The Middle East Eye and The Sharq al-Awsat newspaper, Turkey is planning a major military operation against the PKK in the Kurdistan Region, with one of the key areas of focus being the Gara (or Gare) mountain range. We will briefly outline four reasons why this is likely to be Turkey's most important military operation in the Kurdistan Region:

1. This will be the first operation where Turkey penetrates deep into the territory of the Kurdistan Region beyond the immediate areas adjacent to the Turkish border. The Gara mountain range is a vast area, with its southern parts more than 40 km away from the Turkish border. Gara is also an extensive mountain range stretching from the Duhok province to the Erbil province.

2. The Gara mountain is arguably the PKK's most crucial region – at least as important as, if not more important than, the Qandil mountain, where its headquarters is located. The PKK's most extensive network of tunnels, hideouts, and operational capabilities are situated in Gara. It has been the headquarters of the PKK's military wing. The Gara mountain range, situated in the northern center of the Kurdistan Region, serves as a strategic link between the PKK's headquarters in Qandil and its operations in Turkey, Syria, and Sinjar.

3. As mentioned above, the PKK's most sophisticated hideouts are located in Gara. During a brief four-day Turkish military operation in 2021, the Turkish military faced an extremely violent confrontation, demonstrating the extent of the PKK's entrenchment in the mountain range and the challenges awaiting Turkey in the expected military operation. Given that losing access to Gara could be an unprecedented military setback for the PKK (or even a matter of survival), the Turkish military operations there are likely to be the bloodiest and most challenging due to the logistical difficulties posed by the mountain's distance from the Turkish border.

4. The operation carries significant political weight, potentially reinforcing Turkish influence over the KDP-controlled areas of Duhok and Erbil. The western part of the Gara mountain range is less than 15 km from the center of Duhok city, and its eastern side is only about 50 km from the centers of Erbil and Mosul. At a time of unprecedented political confrontation between the KDP and Baghdad post-2003, this operation could be interpreted as further consolidation of Turkish influence over the KDP region and a sign of hardening territorial division between the pro-Iran Sulaimani and pro-Turkey Erbil.