Iraq summons Turkish envoy to demand halt to raids

Iraqi foreign minister says Turkish ambassador told to stop bombing of PKK outposts in northern Iraq, which Baghdad says killed 7 people.

By REUTERS, JPOST.COM STAFF
Iraqi bridge destroyed in Turkish airstrike_311 (photo credit: Reuters)
Iraqi bridge destroyed in Turkish airstrike_311
(photo credit: Reuters)
BAGHDAD - Iraq summoned Turkey's ambassador to Baghdad to demand an immediate halt to air strikes along its northern border, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said on Thursday.
Turkey last week launched a series of attacks on Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq. Iraqi authorities said a Turkish air strike killed seven Iraqi civilians on Sunday.
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"Yesterday the Turkish ambassador was summoned here to the foreign ministry. He was handed a ... protest, diplomatic note about the continued bombing," Zebari told Reuters in an interview. "We demanded an immediate stop to these air strikes."
The Turkish military said on Tuesday it had killed up to 100 Kurdish separatist rebels in six days of air strikes in response to an escalation of guerrilla attacks after the collapse of efforts to negotiate a settlement of the 27-year-old conflict.
On Thursday, 15 Turkish soldiers were injured when an explosive device was detonated next to an army convoy in southeastern Turkey's Hakkari province, Turkey's English-language news site Hurriyet reported. 
According to the report, the bomb was detonated by a remote device triggered  by PKK separatists.