The Defense Ministry in Ankara says ground troops have been airlifted into northern Iraq as part of Turkey’s new offensive against the Iraq-based Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which it accuses of backing Turkish Kurds seeking autonomy. On Monday, Turkish warplanes began hitting PKK targets in Iraq together with cannon fire. Ankara has used both air and artillery strikes against Iraqi territory before, but observers say that boots on the ground is something new. The Turkish Defense Ministry identified the troops as commandos but did not say how many had crossed the border, although it noted that some had been airlifted while others had been transported using border-crossings. The Associated Press quoted Omer Celik, a senior member of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party, as saying: “Turkey continues its fight against terrorists using the rights based on international law.” On Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry in Baghdad summoned Turkey’s ambassador to protest what so far had been an air and artillery offensive.
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