Turkey military chief says troops ready to attack Kurds in Iraq

TURKEY’S top general yesterday said the military was ready to stage a cross-border offensive to fight Kurdish guerrillas in Iraq and that he already had sought government approval to mount military action.

Earlier Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who pledged support for any military decision to stage an incursion into Iraq, said the army had not yet asked parliament for permission.

But Gen. Yasar Buyukanit said he had asked for approval during a news conference on April 12, when he said “an operation into Iraq is necessary”.