Turk PM confirms plan to allow operation in Iraq – Yahoo! News
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan confirmed on Wednesday his government was drawing up plans to authorize a military incursion into northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebels using the region as a base. “(Preparations on the proposal) have started and are continuing,” Erdogan told reporters in answer to a question as he arrived at parliament. Parliament would have to grant its permission to troops to cross the border into Iraq. Passing the measure would not automatically mean Turkish troops going into northern Iraq. Political analysts say a major military operation remains unlikely, given opposition from the United States, Turkey’s NATO ally, but Erdogan is under pressure to act tough after a series of deadly rebel attacks on Turkish security forces.