Iraq Claims Turkey Massing Border Troops

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari claimed Turkey has massed 140,000 troops along the Iraqi border and warned Iraq was prepared to fight.

Turkey has repeatedly claimed separatist Kurds in northern Iraq have staged attacks in southern Turkey but there was no official response from Ankara about Zebari’s allegation, a BBC correspondent reported from Baghdad.

Zebari, himself a Kurd, said Turkey had legitimate security concerns, although he said a diplomatic resumption of talks involving Iraq, Turkey and the United States was a better way to resolve the dispute.

White House spokesman Tony Snow was sympathetic to both sides, saying Turkey had a right to defend itself but it was also necessary to recognize the territorial sovereignty of Iraq.

If the figure of 140,000 troops is accurate, it would mean Turkey has deployed nearly as many soldiers as the United States’ 155,000 deployed in Iraq, the report said.