February 11, 2009 4:45 PM
- Text
Turkish Officials: Troops Enter Iraq
(CBS/AP)
Turkish troops crossed into northern Iraq early Wednesday to chase Kurdish guerrillas who attack Turkey from bases there, Turkish security officials said. One official said the troops had returned to their bases by the end of the day, but Turkey's foreign minister denied its troops had ever entered Iraq.
The senior security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, characterized the raid as a "hot pursuit" raid that was limited in scope. They told The Associated Press it did not constitute the kind of large incursion that Turkish leaders have been discussing in recent weeks.
One official said several thousand troops went less than two miles inside Iraq and were still there in late afternoon. "It is a hot pursuit, not an incursion," one official said.
Another official said by telephone it was "not a major offensive and the number of troops is not in the tens of thousands." He also said the Turkish troops went into a remote, mountainous area.
A third official, based in the border region, said 600 commandos entered Iraq and were backed up by several thousand troops along the border. He said the commandos raided Iraqi territory across from the Turkish border town of Cukurca before dawn after rebels opened fire from Iraqi soil on Turkish patrols.
The official said the commandos returned to their bases in Turkey later in the day. There was no immediate explanation for the conflicting accounts of the officials.
All three officials are based in southeast Turkey, where the military has been battling separatist Kurdish rebels since they took up arms in 1984.
The officials stood by their statements despite denials from Turkish and Iraqi officials.
The White House said there has been "no new activity" in northern Iraq to justify the press reports. Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the White House's National Security Council, said that U.S. officials in the region have confirmed that the activity is a continuation of Turkey's years-long campaign against guerrillas of Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.
"The Turkish government reports no new incursions into northern Iraq," Johndroe said. "U.S. officials on the ground confirm no new activity."
Johndroe said Washington remains "concerned about the PKK and the use of Iraq as a safe haven."
"We have no indications or no reports that the Turks have conducted a cross-border operation into Iraq," said Brig. Gen. Perry Wiggins, deputy director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a military spokesman in Baghdad, said he could not confirm any Turkish troops were in Iraq, but "we are looking into it and obviously we are very concerned."
The last major Turkish incursion into northern Iraq was in 1997, when about 50,000 troops were sent to the region.
The officials who gave the accounts of the raid Wednesday are involved in anti-rebel operations. They did not disclose whether they participated in the planning of Wednesday's operation.
Two of the officials said any confrontation with Iraqi Kurdish groups, who have warned against a Turkish incursion, could trigger a larger cross-border operation. The Turkish military has asked the government in Ankara to approve such an incursion, but the government has not given formal approval.
Several military officials at the Pentagon said they have seen nothing Wednesday that would confirm the reports of Turkish troops crossing the border into Iraq.
The senior security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, characterized the raid as a "hot pursuit" raid that was limited in scope. They told The Associated Press it did not constitute the kind of large incursion that Turkish leaders have been discussing in recent weeks.
One official said several thousand troops went less than two miles inside Iraq and were still there in late afternoon. "It is a hot pursuit, not an incursion," one official said.
Another official said by telephone it was "not a major offensive and the number of troops is not in the tens of thousands." He also said the Turkish troops went into a remote, mountainous area.
A third official, based in the border region, said 600 commandos entered Iraq and were backed up by several thousand troops along the border. He said the commandos raided Iraqi territory across from the Turkish border town of Cukurca before dawn after rebels opened fire from Iraqi soil on Turkish patrols.
The official said the commandos returned to their bases in Turkey later in the day. There was no immediate explanation for the conflicting accounts of the officials.
All three officials are based in southeast Turkey, where the military has been battling separatist Kurdish rebels since they took up arms in 1984.
The officials stood by their statements despite denials from Turkish and Iraqi officials.
The White House said there has been "no new activity" in northern Iraq to justify the press reports. Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the White House's National Security Council, said that U.S. officials in the region have confirmed that the activity is a continuation of Turkey's years-long campaign against guerrillas of Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.
"The Turkish government reports no new incursions into northern Iraq," Johndroe said. "U.S. officials on the ground confirm no new activity."
Johndroe said Washington remains "concerned about the PKK and the use of Iraq as a safe haven."
"We have no indications or no reports that the Turks have conducted a cross-border operation into Iraq," said Brig. Gen. Perry Wiggins, deputy director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a military spokesman in Baghdad, said he could not confirm any Turkish troops were in Iraq, but "we are looking into it and obviously we are very concerned."
The last major Turkish incursion into northern Iraq was in 1997, when about 50,000 troops were sent to the region.
The officials who gave the accounts of the raid Wednesday are involved in anti-rebel operations. They did not disclose whether they participated in the planning of Wednesday's operation.
Two of the officials said any confrontation with Iraqi Kurdish groups, who have warned against a Turkish incursion, could trigger a larger cross-border operation. The Turkish military has asked the government in Ankara to approve such an incursion, but the government has not given formal approval.
Several military officials at the Pentagon said they have seen nothing Wednesday that would confirm the reports of Turkish troops crossing the border into Iraq.
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