Region | Iraq

Turkey plans to move against Iraq Kurds, says Gul

Despite warnings from Washington and Iraq, Turkey is preparing to infiltrate Iraq for a cross-border strike against Kurdish rebels, says Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul.

  • Agencies
  • Published: 12:12 June 29, 2007
  • Gulf News

  • Residents stand near the wreckage of vehicles after a car bomb attack killed 25 people and wounded 40 at an intersection in Baghdad on Thursday.
  • Image Credit: Reuters

Ankara: Turkey is preparing plans for a cross-border operation against Kurdish rebels in Iraq, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul was quoted as saying on Friday.

Washington has urged Turkey not to enter Iraq, saying it would destablise the region. Iraq has also warned Turkey against making an incursion.

However, Ankara has repeatedly threatened to send troops into Iraq to hunt down militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) who use the region as base from which to attack Turkey.

"The military plans have been worked out in the finest detail. The government knows these plans and agrees with them," Gul told the Radikal newspaper in an interview.

"If neither the Iraqi government nor the US occupying forces can [crush the PKK], we will take our own decision and implement it," Gul said.

More than 30,000 people have been killed in fighting between Turkish security forces and the PKK.

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