GOI STATEMENT ON OCTOBER 7 PKK ATTACKS

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 003395 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2017 TAGS: PREL TU IZ SUBJECT: GOI STATEMENT ON OCTOBER 7 PKK ATTACKS REF: BAGHDAD 3316 Classified By: Deputy Political Counselor Robert Waller for reasons 1.4 (b) & (d) ¶1. (U) On October 9 Iraqi Government spokesman Ali Dabbagh issued a statement on the PKK attacks that killed at least 13 Turkish soldiers in the Turkish Sirnak province near the border with Iraqi Kurdistan on October 7. ¶2. (U) Begin Text: Date: October 9, 2007 Al-Dabbagh: "Iraq Condemns the PKK Attacks" The Iraqi government is exceedingly concerned by the attack on the Turkish Sirnak Province which led to the deaths of a number of Turkish civilians and military personnel. Reports indicated that the outlawed PKK organization was involved in this attack. "The Iraqi government would like to extend its condolences to the victims' families and loved ones," said al-Dabbagh, "and to express its solidarity with the Turkish people. The Government of Iraq would also like to reaffirm that regional cooperation to confront all terrorist groups that threaten the region is unfaltering. Coordination in the field of security, by way of the agreement signed between Iraq and Turkey, is the framework through which security and the sovereignty of the two countries can be preserved." End Text. ¶3. (U) Dabbagh also noted in a phone interview aired on Iraqiyah TV that any Turkish incursion into Iraq in response to this incident would "complicate" bilateral relations. The Council of Ministers of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) expressed concern about the attacks and rejected any armed group's use of the Kurdish region to carry out attacks on Turkey, while acting KRG Minister of Peshmerga Jabbar Yawar warned that any Turkish incursion "will be confronted," according to Kurdish media. CROCKER