Will Iran Arm the PKK with Drones to Hit Turkiye After Assad's Ouster?

Turkiye's military capabilities surpass those of Iranian militias.
As opposition factions, with clear Turkish support, succeeded in toppling Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, questions arise about whether Iranian-backed militias in Iraq will follow through on threats to supply the PKK with drones in retaliation against Ankara's role in Assad’s downfall.
On December 8, 2024, Syrian opposition forces took control of Damascus, forcing Assad to flee the country. Moscow later announced that Assad and his family had arrived in Russia, where they were granted “humanitarian asylum.”
A Serious Threat?
Haider Mossawy, a figure close to Iraqi militias and head of Iraq's Alqarar Center for Media Studies, stated that factions threatened Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with arming the PKK with drones in response to developments in Syria.
According to the Iraqi news outlet Alssaa, Mossawy confirmed on December 6, 2024, that the factions warned Erdogan they would equip the PKK with drones if Turkiye continued to support the Syrian opposition.
Without revealing when or how the Shia militias threatened Erdogan, he stated that the Turkish president informed Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani that Turkiye would not stand idle if the PKK took action against it.
On December 3, the Turkish presidency released a statement highlighting Erdogan’s talks with al-Sudani, during which he emphasized Turkiye's priority to maintain stability along its borders and safeguard civilians. Erdogan reportedly reiterated that Turkiye would take necessary measures to protect its security and interests, ensuring the PKK and its affiliates could not take advantage of the situation in Syria.
As the Syrian opposition launched Operation Deterrence of Aggression on December 27, several Iraqi militia leaders, including Abu Ala al-Walai of Sayyid al-Shuhada Brigades and Shibl al-Zaydi of Imam Ali Brigades, voiced their support for Assad’s regime. They also warned Turkiye, accusing it of backing “extremist elements” in the region.
On December 1, al-Walai took to X to criticize Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accusing him of jeopardizing his political future. “Turkiye must understand that Syria will no longer serve as a dumping ground for your human waste. Just as we countered your schemes in the past, we are ready today with greater determination and deeper conviction,” al-Walai wrote.
Similarly, on December 7, al-Zaydi posted on X, accusing Turkiye of being the “primary instigator of chaos, violence, and extremism in the region, particularly in Syria.” He called for an official and public Iraqi intervention in Syrian affairs.
Iraqi militias began fighting alongside the Syrian regime in 2012, a year after the Syrian revolution erupted, citing the defense of Shia “holy sites” as their justification. Like other Iranian-aligned militias, these groups have been accused of committing atrocities against the Syrian people.
Retaliation on the Table
Commenting on these threats, Iraqi researcher Ali al-Massari said Iran-backed militias might use the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), led by Bafel Talabani, as a conduit for such actions, given the PUK’s ties with both sides.
Ankara has long had strained relations with the PUK, which governs Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah province. Turkiye has accused the party of supporting the PKK and has conducted numerous airstrikes on Sulaymaniyah targeting PKK members, who are designated as terrorists by Ankara.
“If this happens, Turkiye’s air force is unlikely to leave Iraqi militias unscathed. In response, the militias could strike Turkish targets in Iraq, particularly the military base in Zilkan near Mosul,” al-Massari told Al-Estiklal.
The Zilkan base was established in 2014 during the fight against ISIS after the Iraqi government requested Turkish forces to help train local volunteers to reclaim Mosul.
Al-Massari added that Iraqi militias are unlikely to target “Israel” with their missiles as they previously did using Syrian territory. Instead, they may shift their focus to Turkish forces in Iraq, aiming to provoke Ankara following its support for the Syrian opposition.
He also downplayed the significance of arming the PKK with drones, noting that Turkiye’s superior military capabilities would allow it to counter any threats posed by the militias or the PKK.
“The Shia militias lack the ethics of true warriors and they can do anything, but they remain under Iran’s command,” the Iraqi researcher said.
“Iran ultimately holds responsibility for any escalation they initiate against Turkiye, particularly targeting its forces in Iraq.”
To conclude, al-Massari said Iran has suffered a major setback, as the so-called Shia Crescent—stretching from Lebanon through Syria, Iraq, and Iran—”has been fractured.” This time, however, it wasn’t “Israel” but Turkish-backed Syrian opposition forces that toppled Tehran’s ally of six decades. Thus, an Iranian retaliatory move remains a possibility.

Ongoing Attacks
The Turkish Zilkan military base in Iraq’s Mosul region frequently comes under rocket fire, with Shia militias often blamed for the attacks. The most recent incident occurred on December 6, 2024, when four rockets struck the vicinity of the base without causing any injuries.
In June 2022, Shibl al-Zaydi, leader of the Iran-backed Imam Ali Brigades, declared that Turkiye and its interests had become “hostile targets.” His remarks came after Turkish military operations against the PKK in Iraq, particularly in the Sinjar region and Kurdistan, where Ankara targets the group it labels a terrorist organization.
On February 1, 2022, Qais al-Khazali, leader of the Iran-aligned Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq militia, vowed to respond to what he called “Turkish occupation” and force Ankara to withdraw from Iraq. He criticized the Iraqi government for its “regrettable silence” over what he described as clear violations of Iraqi sovereignty.
Turkiye, however, maintains that its operations are not intended to infringe upon Iraq’s sovereignty but rather to target PKK strongholds that regularly launch cross-border attacks on Turkish soil, causing civilian casualties.
Recent international reports suggest that Iran is behind the heightened rhetoric of Shia militias against Turkiye, driven by concerns over Ankara’s growing influence in the region.
Former Governor Atheel al-Nujayfi told Baghdad Today on March 25, 2019, that the PKK plays a significant role in smuggling drugs from Iran through Iraq and Syria to the Gulf.
He described the PKK as a “valuable asset” for Tehran, making it unlikely that Iran would abandon the group. Al-Nujayfi also said Iran has opposed the withdrawal of the PKK’s military wing from Sinjar and other areas where it maintains a presence.

The former Iraqi official said the PKK's presence in key areas of northern Iraq predates the rise of ISIS; the group exploited the chaos created by ISIS as part of a calculated plan, using the opportunity to deeply embed itself in the region.
Al-Nujayfi, explained that “certain Iraqi factions, with Iranian support, gambled on backing the PKK to combat Kurdish forces. This move stoked inter-Kurdish conflict at the expense of national unity, as they saw it as the simplest way to diminish Kurdish political aspirations.”
“The PKK's ongoing presence in Sinjar and other areas has destabilized Iraq; some actors are leveraging the group’s strategic positioning along the Iraq-Syria border as a pawn in the broader geopolitical rivalry between Iran and the United States.”
Saeed Hassan, the commander of the PKK-affiliated Sinjar Resistance Units, disclosed that Baghdad not only provides monthly salaries and logistical support to his fighters but has also approved the supply of tanks, artillery, and other heavy weaponry.
In remarks to the Iraqi news outlet Rudaw on January 4, 2016, Hassan confirmed that his forces were officially recognized by the Iraqi government in mid-2015. He described the group as an integral part of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces, with approximately 500 fighters now receiving state salaries.
Sources
- Sinjar Resistance Units Commander: The Iraqi government agreed to provide us with tanks and artillery [Arabic]
- Iraqi factions threaten Turkiye with arming the PKK with drones [Arabic]
- Abu Alaa Al-Walaei: Erdogan is gambling with his future and we are ready to deter aggression against Syria [Arabic]
- How did Halbousi exclude the Iraqi Turkmen from the administration of Kirkuk? [Arabic]
- Turkish camp north of Mosul targeted by missile attack [Arabic]
- Shibl al-Zaydi, an Iraqi militia leader sanctioned by the US and Saudi Arabia, challenges Turkiye militarily [Arabic]
- Kurdistan government chooses Baghdad's support for the Turkish Workers' Party in Sinjar [Arabic]