Kandil (Qandil) Mountains

   These are very rugged mountains reaching heights of approximately 3,000 meters and situated on the border between northern Iraq and Iran. For the past decade some 5,000 fighters of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) have been encamped there. Periodically, Turkey has struck this area with aerial attacks, while Iran has similarly attacked the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) fighters also encamped here. As of the summer of 2010, however, these attacks have not succeeded in removing the PKK or PJAK from their mountainous camps. Murat Karayilan is the main PKK military leader in these mountains. The PKK presence in the Kandil Mountains has also become a heated issue of dispute between Turkey, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Iraq, and the United States.