[whataretheysaying] Mary Madigan: Turkish soldiers in Iraq?

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Posted by Mary Madigan:
Turkish soldiers in Iraq?
http://whataretheysaying.powerblogs.com/posts/1181149243.shtml


   Via [1]CNN

     ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Several thousand Turkish troops crossed into
     northern Iraq early Wednesday to chase Kurdish guerrillas who
     operate from bases there, Turkish security officials said.

     Two senior security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity
     because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said the
     raid was limited in scope and that it did not constitute the kind
     of large incursion that Turkish leaders have been discussing in
     recent weeks.

     "It is not a major offensive and the number of troops is not in the
     tens of thousands," one of the officials told The Associated Press
     by telephone.

   Given the dodgy 'nothing to see here, move along' attitude everyone is
   assuming here, I'd guess that this means 9,999 troops were involved.

     Col. Hussein Rashid, a top official with the Iraqi border guards,
     dismissed the report.

     "Not even a single Turkish soldier has entered Iraqi territory," he
     said by telephone from his post near the border with Turkey,
     although he pointed out that Turkish troops have been operating
     very close to the border as part of a recent buildup. "I have made
     contacts with many border posts and none report any incident."...

     ..An official at military headquarters in Ankara declined to
     confirm or deny the report that Turkish troops had entered Iraq.

     Turkish troops have staged so-called "hot pursuits" into northern
     Iraq in the past, usually after citing reports of attacks against
     Turkish soldiers in the border region.

References

   1. http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/06/06/turkey.iraq.ap/index.html