Turkey admits to having 11 temporary military bases in IraqJune 21, 2018 - 17:48 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey has 11 temporary military bases in northern Iraq, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said Thursday, June 21, according to Daily Sabah. Speaking in a live interview to private A Haber broadcaster, Yıldırım also said 400 square kilometers of the region has been cleared of 'terrorists'. "We are shelling Mt. Qandil through air operations at times. This time PKK terrorists are crossing into Iran when they are on the back foot," the prime minister said. He added Turkey has no problem with Iran over its Qandil operation. "We cleared the area in northwestern Syria's Afrin during Operation Olive Branch. We will do the same thing in Mt. Qandil area," the prime minister said. On Jan. 20, Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch to remove YPG/PKK and Daesh terrorists from Afrin region. On March 18, Day 58 of the operation, Turkish troops, and Free Syrian Army members liberated the town of Afrin. About a possible joint operation with Iran, Yıldırım said: "Iran expects to work with us all the time, including sharing intelligence, but it is naturally reluctant to launch a joint counter-terror operation within its borders." Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Kazakh Foreign Minister arrives in Armenia Kazakh Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu on Monday, March 18 arrived in Armenia for a two-day trip. Aliyev touts “good chances” for normalizing ties with Armenia Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has declared that there are “good chances” for normalizing relations with Armenia. Top Armenian, Indian defense officials discuss cooperation The discussions primarily focused on enhancing cooperation in the defence sector between Armenia and India. IDBank unveils three sad stories about fraudsters IDBank has unveiled three scenarios of card fraud that have been happening more and more often in Armenia. |