Iraqi president says Kurdish attacks against Turkey are terrorism

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Iraq is actively seeking cooperation with Turkey to fight terrorism and will not allow any more Kurdish separatist military activity from its soil, the Iraqi president told the Arab League on Monday. "Iraq is against all violent operations against Turkey," Iraqi President Jalal Talabani told reporters at the League's headquarters in Cairo. "We are exerting all our efforts to stop the terrorism threat, which imperils both Turkey and Iraq," he said. The Iraqi leader's statement came as Turkish troops are poised for a possible cross-border offensive against militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, hiding out in northern Iraq. A series of hit-and-run attacks in Turkey by PKK rebels has left nearly 50 dead, primarily soldiers, since late September. The PKK is listed as terrorist group by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.