Iraq protests Turkish incursion into Northern Iraq

By Mariam Karouny
Fri Feb 22, 2008

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's government on Friday urged Turkey to respect its sovereignty after Turkish troops crossed the border to hunt for Kurdish rebels, but said it expected the operation to be limited.

Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Kurdish Peshmerga security forces in Iraq's largely autonomous region of Kurdistan had stopped some Turkish ground troops from entering the country. There was no confrontation, he said.

He said the incursion was launched after Turkey obtained intelligence on movements of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels in a remote area inside the border of northern Iraq.
Several Iraqi officials and a senior military officer with coalition forces in Iraq tried to play down the operation, saying only a few hundred Turkish troops were involved.

In Ankara, a senior military source said thousands of Turkish troops had crossed to look for the guerrillas. Turkish television said 3,000 to 10,000 soldiers had entered Iraq.

"Our position is Turkey should respect the sovereignty of Iraq and avoid any military action which would threaten security and stability," Dabbagh told Reuters.

"We do not expect these operations will expand because they are against the Iraqi and Turkish desire to have good relations."

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said he had summoned the charge d'affaires from the Turkish embassy in Baghdad to protest the incursion.

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