Turkish troops may stay in Iraq, Syria for two more years
The Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at the Turkish Parliament in Ankara, Turkey. Photo: Reuters
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Turkish Presidency submitted a request to the Turkish Parliament to extend the work of the army in Syria and Iraq for two more years.
The request will be discussed and voted on in the coming days, most likely next Tuesday.
The step comes after the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that launching a Turkish ground military operation in northern Iraq is one of the proposed options.
The Turkish Ministers of Defense and the Minister of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday that the sites of Kurdish fighters, including their infrastructure and superstructure, have become legitimate targets.
The Turkish army launched air strikes on sites of Kurdish militants in northern Iraq on Tuesday evening, killing some of them.
The Turkish air strikes followed an attack claimed by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) targeting the headquarters of the Turkish Ministry of Interior in Ankara, according to the Anadolu Agency.
The Iraqi Minister of Defense, Thabet Al-Abbasi, met on Thursday with the Turkish Minister of National Defense, Yasar Guler, where they discussed cooperation in the military and defense industries.
A statement issued by the Iraqi Defense Ministry explained that the two sides stressed the need to continue cooperation in the fight against terrorism and in maintaining border security.