PanARMENIAN.Net

Turkey ready to intrude into northern Iraq at any price
12.10.2007 15:59 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ `Turkey is ready to pay any price for a trans-border
operation in Northern Iraq,’ Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said
Friday. `We have run out of patience,’ he added.

`The Turkish parliament will be submitted a bill on operation aiming
to clear the region of PKK fighters early next week,’ he said.

Turkey’s army has prepared several scenarios of a trans-border
operation in north Iraq to counter Kurdish insurgents, which the
government will pass to parliament.

Turkey’s government announced on Tuesday the possibility of a military
incursion into Iraq to track down Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)
fighters, who have killed some 30 Turkish soldiers during two
days. The country has been amassing troops near Iraq, and shelling and
air-raiding suspected rebel positions along the border.

The scenarios include an advance of 5-10 km into Iraq to gain full
control of the border; pinpoint air attacks on suspected separatist
bases; air raids on PKK strongholds in the mountains; and combined
land operations and air attacks, Hurriyet newspaper reported.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on television on Wednesday
that the operation would aim to clear the region of PKK fighters, who
currently number about 3,500, but did not say when it could be
launched.

He said the government wanted parliamentary approval for the operation
to be valid within a year, so the army can "tackle problems as they
arise."

Iraq has protested against a Turkish military operation on its
territory, calling it "aggression against Iraq and its territorial
integrity." Erdogan responded that Ankara was not after Iraq’s
territory or sovereignty, but sought to counter the mounting terrorism
threat emanating from the country, RIA Novosti reports.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress