Video: Turkey, the PKK and Assyrian villages

Transcript below.

YASMEEN ALTAJI: What's happening with Turkey and Iraq? And why are Assyrian villages in the Kurdistan Region catching fire? Let's get into it.

Turkey has a decades-long conflict with a political- militant group called the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, for short. Turkey and its Western allies, like the U.S. and the EU, consider the group a terrorist organization. The PKK has positions in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq, and suspected PKK positions are nestled among villages in the north - many of them Assyrian.

Turkey has been conducting cross-border military operations targeting the PKK in Iraq and Syria for years. But in recent months, Turkey has ramped up its operations in Iraq, reportedly moving within the country's borders to conduct strikes against PKK militants.

The uptick in activity can be attributed to an agreement between Turkey and Iraq that came in April this year, that essentially means Turkey will ensure adequate water supply for Iraq in exchange for Iraq's cooperation with economy and security, including neutralization of non-state armed actors in Iraq.

Iraq has in the past called Turkey's cross-border operations a breach of its sovereignty,

Within the last month,

suspected Turkish strikes and subsequent fires have been reported by eyewitnesses in farming villages across the Nahla and Sapna valleys in the Kurdistan region, including Assyrian villages like Dayri, Deraluk, and Chammeh Rebatke.

The Word will continue to report on this conflict. You can get updates on developments at www.thewordmideast.com.