(C) KRG-ERBIL INTERIOR MINISTER ON BORDER TENSIONS WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L KIRKUK 000107 SIPDIS SIPDIS BAGHDAD FOR POL, NCT E.O. 12958: DECL: 5/2/2016 TAGS: PREL PBTS PNAT PGOV PINR IZ TU IR SUBJECT: (C) KRG-ERBIL INTERIOR MINISTER ON BORDER TENSIONS WITH TURKEY REF: KIRKUK 97 CLASSIFIED BY: Jim Bigus, PRT Team Leader, Kirkuk, DOS. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) On the margins of the Iraqi-American Chamber of Commerce conference in Erbil on April 27 Kurdish Regional Government Interior Minister Karim Sinjari briefly discussed recent border tensions with Turkey. Sinjari described the shelling of an Iraqi (Kurdish KDP) border post at Zaha-Sidarkan, saying the Turks lobbed shells near the post to frighten the guards away so that they could cross the border more easily. This was an old trick the Turks had used for years he said. "If there is no U.S. reaction, they will enter." ¶2. (C) Sinjari said there were about 200,000 Turkish troops on the border, the number they usually deploy when they intend to cross over. There was nothing new in the Turkish tactics. The Turks were coordinating with the Iranians in recent actions along the border according to Sinjari. "Iran, Turkey and Syria always cooperate when it comes to the Kurds." Sinjari also said the Turkish military was "losing influence little by little" inside Turkey and was using the latest maneuvers to bolster its importance. ¶3. (C) COMMENT: Sinjari did not want to miss the chance to tell the U.S. it should do something about the Turkish maneuvers. Speculation continues on why Turkey and Iran are acting now; we will continue to monitor political reactions to Turkish and Iranian moves toward the Iraqi border. BIGUS