Iraq army slams Turkey for violating its airspace

The Iraqi Joint Operations Command yesterday denounced Turkey’s “violations” of its air space, after 18 Turkish warplanes bombed alleged sites belonging to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Sinjar and Makhmour on Sunday evening.

The Iraqi Command said in a statement that 18 Turkish aircrafts violated Iraqi airspace heading towards Sinjar, Makhmour, Gwer and Erbil, reaching the district of Sharqat at a depth of 193 kilometres from the Turkish border.

The statement added: “The Turkish planes also approached the Iraqi border several times last night, and this provocative behaviour does not comply with the obligations of the good neighbour in accordance with international agreements and is a flagrant violation of Iraqi sovereignty.”

It went on to call for Turkish violations to stop out of respect for the common interests, noting that Iraq is fully prepared to cooperate with Turkey and to control security conditions on the countries’ common borders.

The Turkish Ministry of Defence said the attack aimed to secure the country’s borders as well as the Turkish people’s security by neutralising PKK elements and other terrorist organisations attacking its police and army bases.

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