A Turkish delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Murad Ocalik on Tuesday met with the Iraqi leadership to discuss ways to tackle the escalating cross-border Kurdish rebel attacks in Turkey from their bases in northern Iraq.
The Turkish delegation held talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, President Jalal Talabani and Massoud Barzani, the president of Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government, said Iraqi officials on Tuesday.
During his meeting with the Turkish delegation, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki promised to extend all possible help to counter the cross-border attacks by the Kurdish rebels, and denounced the PKK terrorist activities launched from Iraqi soil against Turkey, said his office in a statement released after the meeting.
The Turkish leader, on his part, reiterated his country's desire to adopt "decisive procedures" to weed out the threat posed by PKK, and informed the Iraqi leader of Turkey's willingness to support his government in all fields.
The Kurdistan Workers' Party or the PKK rebels have been launching cross-border attacks on targets inside Turkey from their bases inside northern Iraq. Turkey, in turn, has often carried out air raids on suspected rebel targets in northern Iraq despite objections from the local government there.
The PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by most of the international community including the United States and the EU, has been fighting for Kurdish autonomy in southeastern Turkey for more than two decades. It is estimated that at least 37,000 people have died in the violence.
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