Iraq canceled a ministerial visit and summoned Turkey’s ambassador on Wednesday when it blamed Ankara for a drone attack that killed two senior Iraqi military officers.
Iraqi officials called the attack a “blatant Turkish drone attack” in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, where Turkey’s army has held weeks-long positions over fighters it considers “terrorists”.
Two commanders of the border guard battalion and the driver of their car were killed Tuesday, the army said in a statement, marking the first Iraqi troop killings since Turkey began border operations in mid-June against Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) rebels.
The Foreign Ministry of Iraq – which has twice called on the Turkish envoy over the military action on its ground – said the ambassador would receive “a letter of protest with strong words” this time rejecting the offensive.
The ministry also confirmed that the Turkish Minister of Defense would no longer be welcomed for a planned visit on Thursday.
‘Dangerous violation’
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Ihsan Chalabi, mayor of nearby Sidakan in the northern province of Erbil, said the drone strike in the Pradost region was aimed at “Iraqi border guards while in talks with PKK fighters”.
Witnesses reported clashes earlier in the day between PKK and Iraqi troops, and local sources said the drone attack was a target for an emergency meeting called to try to quell the tension.
The Iraqi presidency has previously declared “a dangerous violation of Iraqi sovereignty” and called on Ankara to halt “all its military operations” in the region.
On Tuesday, the spokesman for the Iraqi presidency called for an immediate end to such attacks, adding that both sides should resolve border issues.
This was reiterated by the Interior Ministry of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which called for Turkey and the PKK to take their fight outside Iraq.
‘Violation of sovereignty’
At least five civilians have been killed since the start of the Turkish campaign in June. Ankara said two of its soldiers were killed and the PKK and its allies have reported the deaths of 10 fighters.
The PKK, blacklisted by Ankara and its Western allies as a “terrorist group”, has carried out an armed uprising against the Turkish state since 1984, killing tens of thousands of people.
It has used the rugged terrain of northern Iraq as a backbone to win attacks on Turkey, which in turn has set up military positions within Iraqi territory to fight back.
The Kurdish authorities, dominated by the Democratic Party of Kurdistan (KDP), see the PKK as a rival but have never been able to extract them from northern Iraqi bases.
Iraq sees Turkey’s military presence in the Kurdish region as a violation of its sovereignty, but does not want to alienate Turkey, a major trading partner and regional heavyweight.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
.
