Posted on 02/24/2008 5:42:27 AM PST by maquiladora
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran said on Sunday it had reinforced its border security after Turkey launched an offensive in north Iraq against Kurdish rebels, a move an analyst said was likely aimed at stopping rebels hiding in Iran.
Iranian forces have also often clashed in Iraqi border areas with rebels from the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), an offshoot of the PKK and which analysts say has bases in northeastern Iraq from where they operate against Iran.
"Necessary measures have already been taken to reinforce our borders," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told a weekly news conference.
Iran, which brands PJAK a "terrorist" group, was probably concerned that Kurdish rebels might seek haven in or near Iranian territory as a result of the Turkish action, one analyst said, adding this was more likely than concern about a refugee influx.
(snip)
ZAKHU, Iraq, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Kurdish PKK rebels said on Sunday they had shot down a Turkish attack helicopter in north Iraq, where they are battling Turkish troops in a conflict Baghdad and Washington fear could further destabilise Iraq.
"At 6 p.m. (1500 GMT) yesterday, our fighters shot down a Cobra helicopter," Ahmed Danees, head of foreign relations for the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), told Reuters in Baghdad by telephone.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUKL24473095._CH_.242020080224
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
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