Iraq deploys troops along border with Turkey

The Iraqi government has deployed federal guards along the border with Turkey “to protect the country’s border areas and to prevent any violations.”

The measure was agreed upon during a meeting by the Iraqi Ministerial Council for National Security held on Sunday. The meeting discussed “the security and the stability within Iraq and on its border, documenting airspace and land violations, and the federal police’s responsibilities.”

The meeting, which was chaired by the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi, called for the deployment of border guards along the Iraqi-Turkish borders “to protect the border areas and prevent any violations.”

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“The foreign ministry will take the necessary measures to document the Turkish violations of Iraqi airspace to the United Nations,” an official statement by Abdadi’s office read.

Turkish forces frequently carry out ground operations, airstrikes and artillery bombardment against the positions of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants in northern Iraq. In recent months, Turkey carried out airstrikes against PKK and threatened to launch a military operation on the Kurdistan region’s Qandil Mountains.