Turkey Starts Building Wall on Iranian Border to 'Protect Itself From PKK'

The Turkish authorities launched construction of a wall along the country's border with Iran as part of the efforts to protect the territory from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), listed by Ankara as a terrorist organization, local media reported Tuesday.

ANKARA (Sputnik) – The construction began in eastern Agri province, the Hurriyet newspaper reported. The wall is expected to be 10-feet high and 6.5-feet wide.

Earlier in the day, Agri province governor Suleyman Elban visited the construction site.

In May, media reported that Ankara planned to build a 43.5-mile wall on the border with Iran as part of security measures. Currently, Turkey is at the final stage of reinforcing the Syrian border with a 559-mile long wall.

Tensions between Ankara and the Kurdish pro-independence PKK escalated in 2015, after a three-year ceasefire between the two sides collapsed over a series of terror attacks allegedly committed by PKK members, prompting Ankara to launch a military operation in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern regions.