Region | Iraq
Turkey launches incursion into Iraq to seek PKK rebels
Turkish troops have launched a ground incursion across the border into Iraq in pursuit of separatist Kurdish rebels, the military said Friday, an action that dramatically escalates Turkey's conflict with the militants.
- Agencies
- Published: 15:45 February 22, 2008
Istanbul: Turkish troops have launched a ground incursion across the border into Iraq in pursuit of separatist Kurdish rebels, the military said Friday, an action that dramatically escalates Turkey's conflict with the militants.
It is the first confirmed Turkish military ground operation in Iraq since the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003, and it raised concerns that it could trigger a wider conflict with the US-backed Iraqi Kurds despite Turkish assurances that its only target was the PKK rebel group.
The PKK militants are fighting for autonomy in southeast Turkey and have carried out attacks on Turkish targets from bases in a semiautonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq.
The ground operation began after Turkish warplanes and artillery bombed suspected rebel targets on Thursday, the military said on its website. The ground incursion was backed by the air force, the statement said.
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