Turks invade Iraq
10,000 Turkish troops crossed the border at Sirnak and are rounding up Kurds in Harkurk, Zap, Kandil, Rekan and Nerve. The Turks moved in with heavy artillery and have occupied the plain of Ganires.
posted by Nur-al-Cubicle | 7:50 AM
2 Comments:
1. [Informed Comment] 2/22/2008 06:30:00 AM
Posted by: "Juan Cole" jricole@gmail.com nasiriyyah
Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:14 am (PST)
"While US troops keep a tenuous grip on Baghdad in the center, Iraq's
two extremities- - Kurdistan in the north and Basra in the deep south--
are coming apart at the seams. Neither area has many US troops to fall
back on.In a tense confrontation, Iraqi Kurdish troops nearly
surrounded Turkish troops who had made an incursion into northern Iraq
on Thursday. McClatchy reveals:' Iraqi Kurdish troops on Thursday
encircled Turkish soldiers in northern Iraq and threatened to open fire
in the most serious standoff between the two nation's forces since
Turkey threatened late last year to go after guerrillas from the
Kurdistan Workers Party sheltering in Iraq. The standoff began when
Turkish troops in tanks and armored vehicles left one of five bases
they've had in Iraq since 1997 and moved to control two main roads in
Dohuk province, Iraqi officials said. ' Ultimately, the Turkish troops
beat a retreat back to their base. But this is the stuff of which hot
wars are made, folks. Baghdad politicians said they wanted to do
something to forestall such an eventuality. What they would have to do
is to send Arab troops north to guard the border with Turkey with
orders to shoot on sight PKK guerrillas trying to infiltrate into
Turkey. The Kurdish peshmerga are too sympathetic to the PKK to do it.
But Turkey has a right to expect Iraq to prevent it from being attacked
from Iraqi soil. "
Guess it depends on who you read...the Lebanese and Italian papers say the Turks destroyed 5 bridges and have just started their offensive. Guess we'll know by Sunday.
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