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Turkey preparing for cross-border strike in Iraq: general AFP Turkey is preparing for a military strike against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, a senior general said Thursday, but gave no details on the timing or scale of such an operation. "The parliament has authorised the cabinet (on a cross-border operation). We are now in the process of implementing the mandate for a cross-border operation," said Ilker Basbug, the head of land forces, according to Anatolia news agency. "When and how this mandate will be implemented is, of course, a completely separate issue," he added. The Turkish government last month won parliament's backing to order troops into northern Iraq if necessary to strike at bases used by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The PKK uses the bases to launch attacks into Turkish territory.
Turkey has subsequently massed an estimated 100,000 troops and military equipment on the border with Iraq. Basbug stressed that the Turkish miltary stood ready to launch cross-border raids against PKK, considered a terrorist organization by much of the international community.
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