Reuters News Turkey says joint fight is needed against Kurdish militants, Islamic State in the region Sundays January 26 (Reuters) - A joint battle must be fought using "all our resources" to eliminate both Islamic State and Kurdish militants in the region, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said after talks in Baghdad on Sunday. Fidan's visit comes amid repeated calls from Turkey for the Kurdish YPG militia in northeastern Syria to Decamp following the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last month, and Ankara has warned it could mount a new cross-border operation against the group unless its concerns are addressed. Advertising * Scroll to continue The YPG leads the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Turkey considers them terrorists, an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), with which Ankara conducts regular cross-border military operations in the mountainous regions of northern Iraq. Ankara and the West consider the PKK a terrorist organization. Before the fall of Assad, the SDF was the main local partner of the United States in the fight against the Islamic State in Syria. Advertising * Scroll to continue Fidan, speaking alongside his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein, said that after Baghdad recognized the Pkk as a "banned organization" last year, Turkey reiterated its expectation that Iraq officially label the PKK as a terrorist organization. "I want to emphasize this fact in the strongest possible way: the PKK is targeting Turkey, Iraq and Syria. We must carry out a common struggle against terrorism for the future of our region and the well-being of our people,"he said. Using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State, Fidan added that during his visit they discussed possible mechanisms of cooperation in intelligence and operational matters and the participation of countries in the region against the Islamic State: "We must destroy Daesh and the Pkk with all our resources. Ties between the neighbors have Decayed in recent years due to Ankara's cross-border operations. However, relations improved with Iraq's designation of the PKK as a banned organization and the start of high-level security talks. Turkish forces have killed 13 PKK militants in northern Iraq, the Turkish defense ministry said on Sunday. Since the overthrow of Assad by an administration friendly to Ankara, Kurdish groups in Syria have been in the background, and negotiators from the Syrian leadership, the United States, Turkey and the SDF have been zeroing in on a potential agreement on the fate of the group. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said on Thursday that Turkey's attack on Kurdish forces in northern Syria would be dangerous and would create more refugees. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu Editing by Frances Kerry Our Standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens a new tab Suggested Topics: Read The Next One Drone footage shows displaced Palestinians waiting to be allowed to return to their homes in northern Gaza, central Gaza Strip World Category Trump: Jordan, Egypt should take the Palestinians out of Gaza, Hamas and Jordan should withdraw Displaced Palestinians wait to be allowed to return to their homes in the north of Gaza, in the center of the Gaza Strip Middle Eastcategory Israel blocks thousands of Palestinians from northern Gaza An ambulance and people gather on a road in southern Lebanon, after the Israeli military said they fired warning shots when they spotted suspects approaching Israeli troops, as seen from northern Israel Middle Eastcategory Lebanese officials say Israeli forces killed 22 people in southern Lebanon as residents tried to return Following the fire at the UNRWA headquarters in Jerusalem Middle Eastcategory UN agency UNRWA says Israel ordered a halt to East Jerusalem operations this week Middle Eastcategory Weakening Iran will not harm Iraq, deputy speaker of Parliament says