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Turkish troops enter into Northern Iraq |
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Written by Agencies
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Friday, 22 February 2008 |
Turkey's military said on Friday it had launched a cross-border land offensive backed by fighter jets into northern Iraq on Thursday evening to hunt down Kurdish PKK terorists.
Suspected camps of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants were targeted between 1000 (0800 GMT) and 1800 (1600 GMT) on Thursday, according to a statement on the general staff website.
"Following this successful offensive, a cross-border ground operation backed by the Air Force was launched at 1900 [1700 GMT]," said the statement.
"The Turkish Armed Forces, which attach great importance to Iraq's territorial integrity and stability, will return home in the shortest time possible after its goals have been achieved," the General Staff said in a statement posted on its Web site.
An unconfirmed report by Turkish TV channel NTV says 10,000 soldiers have crossed the border.
An US official said Washington had been cooperating fully with Turkey in providing intelligence on PKK positions in northern Iraq since last November to enable the Turkish air force to make pinpointed attacks minimizing civilian casualties.
The European Union and the United States have in the past raised concern that a major cross-border offensive could destabilize the region, though have not criticized recent small-scale cross-border raids over the past two months.
In Baghdad, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said his government was not aware of any Turkish ground offensive.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called on his Turkish counterpart on Thursday evening to respect Iraq's borders after renewed shelling. President Jalal Talabani accepted an invitation from Turkish President Abdullah Gul to visit Turkey.
Turkish financial markets dipped slightly on news of the offensive, a possibility that had been mooted by Foreign Minister Ali Babacan on Tuesday and in a statement from Turkey's National Security Council (MGK) after a meeting on Thursday.
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