Turkish PM Threatens Iraq RaidAfter Rebel Attack -- AFP
ANKARA (AFP) — Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened on Tuesday to launch an incursion into northern Iraq to target Kurdish rebels if necessary, after a bloody attack last week left 17 soldiers dead.
"The sole target of a possible cross-border operation will be the terrorist organisation," Erdogan told lawmakers from his ruling party, referring to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Such an operation will be carried out "if need be, at the right time and under the right conditions with a view of obtaining the right result," Erdogan added.
He said a possible incursion would not target either Iraqi civilians or Iraq's unity and integrity, but underlined that his government was determined to protect itself.
"Turkey is in a position of self-defence when it comes to terrorism. Everyone should understand this," Erdogan said a day before parliament is set to vote on extending by one-year the government's mandate to order cross-border strikes.
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My Comment: Just what Iraq needs right now .... border skirmishes with it's Northern neighbor. But Turkey is angry with the deaths of 17 of its soldiers .... this raises the level of war in this region significantly.