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Turkey launches incursion into Iraq
ANKARA: Turkish soldiers, air force bombers and helicopter gunships reportedly launched an incursion into Iraq on Wednesday, hours after Kurdish rebels killed 26 soldiers and wounded 22 others in multiple attacks along the border.Turkish authorities did not immediately confirm the incursion but the chief of the military as well as interior and defense ministers rushed to the border area and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan canceled a visit to Kazakhstan. NTV television, without citing sources, said Turkish troops had gone some 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) into Iraq and helicopters were ferrying commandos across the border. The incursion for now appears to be limited in scope. Turkey last staged a major ground offensive against Iraq in early 2008. It came hours after the rebels, who are fighting for autonomy in Turkey's southeast, staged simultaneous attacks on military outposts and police stations near the border towns of Cukurca and Yuksekova early Wednesday. The attacks left 26 soldiers dead and 22 others wounded, the Interior Ministry said. It was the deadliest Kurdish rebel attack since 1992, according to a tally by NTV television. Turkish warplanes and artillery units, positioned just inside Turkey, struck at the Kurdish rebel bases across the border in response, NTV said. "As a friend and ally, the United States will continue to stand with the people and government of Turkey in their fight against the PKK, which the United States has officially designated as a terrorist organization," said Francis Ricciardone, the US Ambassador to Turkey in a statement on Wednesday. "No political cause, and no religion, can justify terrorism." Posted by: Steve White 2011-10-20 |
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