US to Turkey: Stay out of Iraq

by Janet Ritz

Turkey and America's strategic partnership is at risk because of the growing tension between the Turkish army on the border of Iraq and the ~3,000 outlawed PKK Kurdish fighters said to be using the mountainous region as a base from which to strike inside Turkey:

The Turkish government is seeking parliamentary approval for a possible cross-border military operation to hunt down Kurdish separatists in Iraq. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is under pressure to act from a Turkish public outraged by rebel attacks that have killed 15 soldiers since Sunday.

Iraq said that the best way to confront the rebels was through a security accord signed with Turkey last month. The US also warned Turkey against making an incursion into northern Iraq.

"If they have a problem, they need to work together to resolve it," said state department spokesman Sean McCormack. [Link] [Video]

Kurdish residents in the Iraqi border region report intermittent shelling from Turkey. The Turkish military has not denied this and has said they have the right to go in ... [more]

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