Turkey May Send Troops to Curb Kurds

The Turkish government plans to ask parliament to authorize an incursion into Kurdish Iraq, Today’s Zaman reported Thursday.

The newspaper, citing sources in the government and military, said that the operation could involve as many as 15,000 soldiers. The sources said that the government is planning to increase Turkish military strength in northern Iraq, which now consists of one base with about 150 people.

Turkey charges that rebels with the Kurdish Workers Party, or PKK, are being given sanctuary in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed that the government is planning a cross-border operation.

The United States has opposed Turkish military operations in Iraq. Relations between the United States and Turkey are strained because of the vote this week in the U.S. Congress on a resolution on the killing of Armenians in 1915.