Shafaq News/ Syriansecurity forces in Damascus have raided properties linked to the PatrioticUnion of Kurdistan (PUK), a prominent Iraqi political party whose membersinclude Iraqi President Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid.
The raids targeted the PUK's headquarters and residences tied to former andcurrent Iraqi officials.
Al Arabiya.net quoted an Iraqi diplomatic source saying that Syrian forcesunder the new administration raided three locations: the PUK headquarters onBaghdad Street, the residence of the party’s representative on Al-ShallalStreet, and a property owned by former Iraqi President Jalal Talabani in theal-Mazra’a neighborhood.
The incidents were not immediately disclosed, as negotiations were underwaywith Syrian authorities to recover the seized properties. Despite repeatedappeals from PUK staff and the Iraqi embassy in Damascus, the administrationhas so far refused to lift the property seizures.
Although two PUK properties remain confiscated, no arrests were made duringthe raids, and guards at the headquarters have continued their duties. Earlierindications suggestedthat keys to two properties might be returned, butthis has not occurred.
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, founded in Damascus in 1975, is a majorKurdish political force in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. Since the fall ofSaddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, four of its senior leaders have served aspresidents of Iraq, including its founder, Jalal Talabani, and the currentpresident, Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid.
A senior PUK official in Baghdad stressed that the party’s relationship withSyria extends beyond its previous government, maintaining ties with varioussegments of the Syrian population.