Turkish Troops in Iraq

October 9, 2007: The Turkish government issued a statement approving potential military incursion into northern Iraq to neutralize resistance from Kurdish rebel separatists. On February 22, 2008, Turkish Troops crossed into Iraq in its biggest military incursion into Iraq since 2003. After this major new incursion, the Iraqi cabinet expressed its "rejection and condemnation" of the operation. The Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq are fighting for a homeland in Turkey. Turkey pulled out of Iraq on February 29.

Having achieved their objective of showing "that northern Iraq is not a safe haven for them," Turkey removed their forces, and ended their offensive against the Kurdistan Workers' Party on February 29, 2007.

• Google News: Turkish Troops Iraq
• Guardian Unlimited: "Turkey Deploys Extra Troops to Iraq Border..." (2007)
• Reuters: Turkey Army Launches Land Offensive into Iraq (February 22, 2008)
• Washington Post: Iraq Sounds Alarm on Clashes in North (February 26, 2008)
• Al Jazeera: Iraq Denounces Turkey Incursion (February 26, 2008)
• BBC News: Iraq denounces Turkish offensive (February 26, 2008)
  • "The Iraqi government has denounced a Turkish incursion into northern Iraq in some of the strongest terms heard since the operation began last week."
• Times Online: Iraq demands that Turkey withdraw its troops (February 26, 2008)
• New York Times: Turkish Military Tells of Incursion Into Iraq (February 22, 2008)
• Turkish Daily News: PKK hideouts in northern Iraq bombed (February 5, 2008)
• New York Times: Turkish Jets Bomb Northern Iraq (February 4, 2008)

• The Kurds
  • Slate.com: The Gist: The Kurds (1996)
  • Wikipedia: History of the Kurdish People
• The PKK
  • New York Review: "The Uncontainable Kurds" (2007)
• Massoud Barzani
  • Kurdistan Regional Government