2008 Turkish incursion into northern Iraq
2008 Turkish incursion into northern Iraq
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2008 Turkish incursion into northern Iraq

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2008 Turkish incursion into northern Iraq

The 2008 Turkish incursion into northern Iraq, code-named Operation Sun (Turkish: Güneş Harekatı) by the Turkish Armed Forces, began on February 21, 2008, when the Turkish Army sent troops into northern Iraq to target the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The ground offensive was preceded by Turkish Air Force bombardments of PKK camps in northern Iraq, which began on December 16, 2007. It was the "first confirmed ground incursion" of Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

Initial reports indicated that up to 10,000 troops had taken part in the operation, although the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Multi-National Force – Iraq claimed only a few hundred troops were involved.

In October 2007, Turkish jets and ground forces clashed with PKK forces in Turkey and over the border into northern Iraq.

Turkey launched its first cross-border raid on December 16, 2007, involving 50 fighter jets. A Turkish military statement said that up to 175 militants were killed on that day alone, while Iraqi officials reported that the strikes had targeted 10 villages and killed one civilian. The PKK reported seven deaths.

On December 26, the Turkish General Staff said Turkish military aircraft bombed eight PKK bases in northern Iraq in a raid undertaken after "it was determined that a large group of militants, who have been watched for a long time, were preparing to pass the winter in eight caves and hideouts in the Zap region," the statement said.

On January 10, 2008, Turkish warplanes bombed PKK hideouts in northern Iraq, the military announced, but there were no reports of casualties or serious damage.

The Turkish military said in a statement on February 4 that Turkish fighter jets struck nearly 70 PKK targets in northern Iraq in a series of strikes.

The president of Kurdish region of northern Iraq, Massoud Barzani, condemned Turkey's raids and warned Ankara to stop the strikes, and the Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, who is a member of the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP), expressed concern that "unilateral actions" could harm Iraqi and Turkish interests. According to the Turkish General Staff's estimates, there were 300 PKK militants in the region prior to the incursion and the General Staff claims that 240 militants were killed.

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