U.S., IRAQ AND TURKEY HAVE A "COMMON INTEREST" IN STOPPING KURDISH REBELS

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.12.2007 13:16 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday
that the United States, Iraq and Turkey have a "common interest"
in stopping Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, but cautioned against
taking any action that could destabilize the region.

Rice’s comments came days after Turkey conducted airstrikes against
rebels from the Kurdish Workers’ Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq. As
many as 50 fighter jets were involved in the attack, the biggest
against the PKK in years. The planes attacked several villages,
killing one woman, Iraqi officials said.

The Turkish army also sent soldiers about 1.5 miles into northern
Iraq in an overnight operation on Tuesday, Kurdish officials said. A
Turkish official said the troops seeking Kurdish rebels were still
in Iraq by midmorning.

Rice made it clear the United States supports efforts to quash any
rebel movement, but she said it was a "Turkish decision" to act. She
suggested that Iraqi, Turkish and U.S. authorities should try to work
together against the rebels. "This is a circumstance in which … we
need an overall comprehensive approach to this problem," Rice said. "No
one should do anything that threatens to destabilize the north."

"This was a Turkish decision," Rice said of the Sunday airstrike. "And
we have made clear to the Turkish government that we continue to be
concerned about anything that could lead to civilian casualties or
anything that could destabilize the north," she said, the AP reports.

A group of 300 Turkish troops crossed into Kurdish territory in
northern Iraq overnight and moved 1-2 miles deeper into Iraq on
Tuesday morning, a senior Iraqi military source told Reuters.

The source said the Turkish troops were lightly armed and had moved
into the Gali Rash area, a mountainous district near the border. There
were no reports of clashes, the source said.