Turkish army chief calls for operation in Northern Iraq

Turkey's top general called on Thursday for a military operation in northern Iraq to quash Turkish Kurdish rebels hiding there, annoying the United States and Iraqi Kurds. But General Yasar Buyukanit, head of Turkey's powerful military General Staff, added that the army had not asked parliament to authorise any such operation.
Parliament must give its permission for any military operations outside Turkish territory. "From the military point of view, a (military) operation in northern Iraq must be made," Buyukanit told a rare news conference.
"There has been no request to parliament from the military for a cross-border operation," he added. Turkey has repeatedly urged the Baghdad government and US occupying forces in Iraq to crack down on an estimated 4,000 rebels from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) who use northern Iraq as a springboard to attack targets inside Turkey.