Report: Iran, Turkey shelling across Iraq border

Above: Turkish soldiers fortifty their position near the border with Iraq yesterday. Iran is also reported to have joined in the shelling.

Turkish and Iranian forces shelled Kurdish rebel positions across the border in northern Iraq , Iraqi Kurd officials reported Friday, amid fears that the conflict could open a new front in Iraq.

Turkey has been building up its forces along the border with Iraq, and its leaders are debating whether to stage a major incursion to pursue separatist rebels who cross over from bases in Iraq to attack Turkish targets. Such an operation could ignite a wider conflict involving Iraqi Kurds, and disrupt Turkey's ties with its NATO ally, the United States.

Iran has also clashed with Iranian Kurd fighters who have bases in remote, mountainous areas of northern Iraq.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, or PUK, the party of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, reported the Turkish and Iranian shelling on its Web site. Turkish military authorities at the General Staff in Ankara were not immediately available for comment.

Iranian officials in Tehran could not immediately be reached for comment late Friday. Iranian media contained no reports on any shelling, and usually wait several days to report such incidents.

Read the rest at AOL News

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