Iraq rejects Turkish strikes in Kurdistan region, seeks resolution

Iraq rejects repeated Turkish air strikes or the presence of Turkish bases in its Kurdistan region and hopes to come to an agreement with Ankara to solve this problem, Iraqi President Abdul-Latif Rashid said in comments aired on Monday.

Turkey said on Sunday it carried out air strikes in northern Iraq that destroyed 20 targets belonging to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) after the militant group said it orchestrated the first bomb attack in Ankara in years.

Turkey regards the PKK as a terrorist group and regularly carries out air strikes in northern Iraq, which has long been outside the direct control of the Baghdad government.

Turkey has also sent commandos and set up military bases on Iraqi territory to support its offensives.

"These violations are rejected by the Iraqi people, the (Kurdistan) region and all of Iraq's inhabitants," Rashid said in an interview with Saudi state-owned broadcaster Al-Hadath, a short clip of which was aired on Monday.

It was not clear whether the interview was filmed before or after Sunday's Turkish air strikes.

Rashid said such strikes sometimes killed civilians, including people visiting the region who "become victims of Turkish bombing."

Turkey has denied targeting civilians and says it works to avoid civilian casualties through its coordination with Iraqi authorities.

Rashid is a member of the Iraqi Kurdish PUK party that has close ties to Iran and has criticised Turkey's strikes in Iraq's north. The post of president is largely ceremonial in Iraq.

Rashid said Baghdad hoped to come to an agreement with Ankara to resolve the issue in a manner similar to a security agreement Iraq has inked with Iran to deal with Iranian Kurdish separatist groups in the Kurdistan region.

(Reuters)