Hakan Fidan, head of Turkey's National Intelligence Agency (MİT), met with the Iraqi Turkmen Front earlier this week, raising questions from Iraqi opposition politicians over his visit in mid-September, Ahval writes.

Fidan's visit to the capital of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region, Erbil, on Oct. 4 coincided with the killing of Kurdish figure Nagihan Akarsel in a shootout in Sulaymaniyah province, the Kurdish website Medya News reported.

The Iraqi coordination structure, an opposition body made up of Shiite parties, has called for an investigation, and a member of the structure, Turki Sedan, said the visit was organized without notifying Iraq's central government.

Turkey and Iran have a one-sided policy toward Kurdistan, the news website Bianet reported, citing Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Lahur Talabany. Talabany called on the central government and international institutions to oppose Turkey's shelling of residential areas.

According to an earlier Rudaw report, the head of Turkish intelligence made another visit to the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Sept. 10, where he met with the chairman of the Iraqi Sunni Alliance, Hamis Hancher, in Baghdad. They reportedly discussed the ongoing political crisis in Iraq and Turkey's military operations in Iraqi territory against the Kurdistan Workers' Party.

According to Firat News, Fidan also met with Iraqi President Barham Salih and Prime Minister Mustafa al Kadhimi the same weekend, discussing Ankara's demands for more support from the Iraqi government in its military incursions and operations.

The Yazidi community in Iraq's Sinjar region then condemned Fidan's visit, saying it coincided with a Turkish drone strike on the village. There are no reports of casualties from the incident, but witnesses say the drone targeted one car in particular. Iraqi MP Arif Humami called for an investigation into Fidan's encounters.