AP: Officials: Turkish troops enter Iraq. Reuters: Iraqi Kurds deny incursion by Turkish troops

[ProSense]

Officials: Turkish troops enter Iraq

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Several thousand Turkish troops crossed into northern Iraq early Wednesday to chase Kurdish guerrillas who operate from bases there, Turkish security officials told The Associated Press.

Two senior security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said the raid was limited in scope and that it did not constitute the kind of large incursion that Turkish leaders have been discussing in recent weeks.

"It is not a major offensive and the number of troops is not in the tens of thousands," one of the officials told the AP by telephone. The official is based in southeast Turkey, where the military has been battling separatist Kurdish rebels since they took up arms in 1984.

The officials did not say where the Turkish force was operating in northern Iraq, nor did he say how long they would be there.

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Turk army says can't confirm Iraq incursion report

20 minutes ago

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's military General Staff said on Wednesday it could not confirm a report that it has sent several thousand troops into northern Iraq to combat Kurdish militants hiding there.

"I cannot confirm this report," said a General Staff official, referring to the Associated Press report.

Iraqi Kurds deny incursion by Turkish troops

06 Jun 2007 15:50:41 GMT
Source: Reuters

SULAIMANIYA, Iraq, June 6 (Reuters) - Government officials in the northern Iraqi autonomous region of Kurdistan on Wednesday denied media reports that Turkish troops had crossed the border into Iraq to hunt for Turkish rebels.

Fouad Hussein, the head of the office of Kurdistan President Masoud Barzani, said the government had no knowledge of any invasion.

"Up to this moment, there is no incursion by Turkish troops into the Iraq Kurdistan region. But I don't know if the troops have entered into distant parts of the mountains, situated between Iraq and Turkey," he told Reuters.

A deputy minister responsible for Kurdistan's Peshmerga security forces, Jabar Yawir, also denied there had been any incursion.

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[ProSense]

1. Reuters: U.S. says no new military activity in northern Iraq

U.S. says no new military activity in northern Iraq

16 minutes ago

HEILIGENDAMM, Germany (Reuters) - U.S. officials have said that there was "no new activity" in northern Iraq after unconfirmed reports that thousands of Turkish troops had invaded, the White House said on Wednesday.

"Both the Turkish government and U.S. officials on the ground say it's not occurring," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said at the G8 summit. "There's been no new activity to lead to these press reports," he added.

Media speculation has been high about a possible cross-border operation against rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which uses mainly Kurdish northern Iraq as a base from which to launch attacks in Turkey.

"The Turkish government reports there's been no new incursion into Iraq. U.S. officials on the ground confirm no new activity. We remain concerned about the PKK and their use of northern Iraq as a safe haven, and we will continue to work with both the Turkish and Iraqi governments to deal with that threat," Johndroe said.

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[ProSense]

2. Isn't it bizarre that no one can confirm reports that 50,000 Turkish troops entered Iraq? n/t