Turkish General: Army prepared to attack in Iraq

Above: Motorized artillery loaded aboard a transport train station in southeastern Turkey on their way to Turkey's border with Iraq.

ANKARA, Turkey: Turkey's top general said Thursday his army — which has been massing troops on the border with Iraq — was prepared to attack separatist Kurdish guerrillas in a cross-border offensive and accused Turkey's allies of supporting the rebels.

Gen. Yasar Buyukanit said the military was ready and awaiting government orders for an incursion, putting pressure on the government to support an offensive that risks straining ties with the United States and sparking tensions with Iraqi Kurds...

Any military deployment would require parliamentary approval. Public support for an offensive is high, especially following the recent killings of soldiers and a suicide bombing that killed six people and that authorities blamed on the rebels.

Read the rest at Reuters/Alternet

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