Iraqi Kurdish official calls on PKK to lay down arms, leave region

"The PKK must realize the fact that it will not achieve anything by resorting to arms. Kurds cannot gain their freedom by killing two or three soldiers from Turkey and Iran," Mam Rostam, an Iraqi Kurdish commander in northern Iraq, was quoted by Anatolian Agency as saying.

Rostam said the terrorist activities of the PKK endanger Kurdish people living both in Turkey and Iraq.

His remarks came in response to the PKK terrorists' threatening statements toward Iraqi officials, after Turkey, Iraq and the U.S. decided to form a joint center in the northern Iraqi province of Arbil to struggle against terrorism.

Turkey and Iran have been long fighting against the terrorist movements operated by both the PKK and its Iranian wing, PEJAK.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community, including the EU and the United States.