Kurds based in Turkey have fled from Iraq

Ocalan said some PKK members may have deserted to join the anti-Iran group, but according to a statement from PEJAK, the Turkish group's military headquarters are now occupied by its own fighters.

Kurds are a major ethnic group straddling four countries - Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria - totaling about 20 million people. Most live in Turkey, primarily in the southeast, where the PKK has been fighting for autonomy since 1984 in a conflict that has killed nearly 40,000 people.