Turkish troops cross Iraqi border

PanARMENIAN.Net - About 300 Turkish troops have crossed into northern Iraq in a raid against Kurdish rebels, Iraqi officials say. The lightly-armed soldiers moved up to three kilometers (1.9 miles) inside Iraq.



It is believed to be the first major Turkish troop deployment in Iraq since the cabinet backed the move last month to hunt PKK rebels based there, BBC reports.



Meanwhile, as reported by The Guardian, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has made a surprise visit to the northern Iraq city of Kirkuk, a day after the U.S. appeared to give tacit approval to the bombing of rebel Kurdish bases by Turkish jets. The US secretary of state's arrival in the oil rich city indicates growing American concern about the level of fighting in a once stable region of Iraq.



Rice today met members of a civilian-military reconstruction unit based in Kirkuk and provincial politicians of all stripes to persuade them to press for political reconciliation.



Kirkuk is an especially coveted city for both the Shia-dominated Iraqi government in Baghdad and the Kurdish government in Irbil.



Kurds want to incorporate the city into their self-rule area, but the idea has met stiff resistance from Arabs delaying a referendum on the issue that is required under the constitution.



Much of Iraq's vast oil wealth lies under the ground in the region, as well as in the Shia-controlled south. Kurds refer to Kirkuk as the "Kurdish Jerusalem".



"It truly is the crossing point for every one of Iraq's ethnicities, every one of Iraq's religions and sects," said David Satterfield, Rice's top adviser for Iraq. "Kirkuk is often identified as a flash point for the future of Iraq."