Iraq PM warns Turkey: Stop cross-border operations

BAGHDAD — The Iraqi prime minister warned Turkey on Thursday to stop conducting military operations across Iraq’s northern border targeting Kurdish rebels and stressed that Iraq’s sovereignty can not be violated, according to a government spokesman.

The raids have threatened to derail relations between Iraq and Turkey, which have been warming since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.

Nouri al-Maliki delivered the message to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting in Baghdad, where the two were also to sign agreements boosting economic ties between their countries, spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said.

“Iraq’s prime minister reiterated that the government will not allow any forces to cross Iraqi borders,” al-Dabbagh said.

The Kurdish rebel group known as PKK has been fighting for autonomy from Turkey since 1984 in the southeast region along the border with Iraq. The group uses strongholds in northern Iraq for cross-border raids. The PKK is considered a terrorist organization by the European Union and United States.

Turkey recently intensified its offensive against the PKK, while Baghdad has been limited in its ability to act against the rebels and has been preoccupied with fighting violence elsewhere in Iraq. The warning to Turkey comes at a time when Iraq has been attempting to step up protection of its borders as it takes control of the country from U.S. troops.

Al-Maliki also told Erdogan that Turkey should give talks between the two countries and the U.S. over the PKK incursions an opportunity to find a peaceful solution, al-Dabbagh said.

Also on the agenda between al-Maliki and Erdogan was finding a solution for a dispute over water. Iraq has accused Turkey of taking too much water from the rivers and their tributaries that flow into drought-stricken Iraq.

Last month, Turkey agreed to increase water flow to Iraq, releasing an average of 550 cubic meters per second until Oct. 20.

The talks between the two leaders come at a time when Iraq is still struggling to rebuild, more than six years after war began, and reconstruction and economic improvements have become leading campaign issues with those running for office.

Among those campaigning for election to Iraq’s parliament is the attorney who defended Tariq Aziz, one of Saddam Hussein’s best-known lieutenants.

Badee Izzat Aref told The Associated Press that he planned to run as an independent against Iraq’s major political parties.

Despite the drop in violence in Iraq, insurgents continue to attack Iraqi security forces throughout the country with some regularity.

On Thursday, a roadside bomb struck an Iraqi army patrol in Baghdad, killing one Iraqi soldier, a police official said.

The blast followed two attacks Wednesday in Baghdad and the holy Shiite city of Karbala, where three bombs exploded near simultaneously. At least 12 people were killed and more than 50 wounded in the two cities.

The attacks come as Iraqi security forces assume more control from U.S. forces, who are to withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011 under a security agreement between the two countries. President Barack Obama has ordered all combat troops to pull out by Aug. 31, 2010, leaving up to 50,000 in advising roles.

The U.S. military has said that a majority of its troops would remain in Iraq until at least 60 days after January’s national elections.

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Associated Press Writer Sinan Salaheddin contributed to this report.