Since early July 2025, Iraq’s Kurdistan region has faced unprecedented drone and rocket attacks on airports and oil fields amid growing tensions with Baghdad over halted public-sector salaries.

A rare and intense clash erupted between security forces and a local tribe in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, after Khurshid Herki — a leading tribal figure — openly defied authorities during an attempted arrest tied to a tribal dispute.

While the PKK is primarily Turkish, its presence in neighboring countries—particularly Iraq, where it maintains strongholds in the Qandil Mountains and Sinjar—raises questions about its future there.

A key meeting between Kurdish leaders signals a shift in unity and alliances amid Syria's political transformation.