Thursday, February 28, 2008

Turkey targets Iraq Kurds, not just rebels-Kurd PM

ARBIL, Iraq, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Kurdistan's prime minister said he suspected Turkey's incursion into northern Iraq was meant to target the Kurdish region and not just separatist guerrilla bases in the remote mountainous area.

Thousands of Turkish troops, backed by tanks, attack helicopters and warplanes, crossed into northern Iraq on Feb. 21 in an operation which Ankara said was aimed at Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas and their bases.

"We're not convinced whether these attacks are truly against the PKK or if they are actually against the Kurdistan region of Iraq," said Nechirvan Barzani, prime minister of largely autonomous Kurdistan in northern Iraq.

"The actions of the Turkish military in attacking bridges in the border areas, which are important to people there, makes us anxious," Barzani told Reuters in an interview late on Wednesday.

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