Conflicting reports on Turkish incursion into northern Iraq - On Deadline - USATODAY.com

Conflicting reports on Turkish incursion into northern Iraq - On Deadline - USATODAY.com

Conflicting reports on Turkish incursion into northern Iraq

The Associated Press reports that "several thousand" Turkish troops entered northern Iraq today in pursuit of Kurdish guerillas.

But Reuters, another news agency, reports that a Turkish military official says he "cannot confirm this report." The news agency also quotes a White House spokesman who says they have detected "no new activity" in that part of Iraq.

Update at 12:34 p.m. ET: Fox News Channel says the Turkish and U.S. governments are disputing press reports of a ground invasion.

"National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe, traveling with President Bush in Rostock, Germany, said the Turkish government reported to the NSC that the press reports are incorrect," Fox reports. "Johndroe said U.S. officials in the region have also made their own assessment and concur that no incursion has taken place."

Update at 12:38 p.m. ET: Col. Hussein Rashid, a senior official with the Iraqi border guards, tells the Associated Press that the invasion reports are inaccurate.

"Not even a single Turkish soldier has entered Iraqi territory," he said by telephone from his post near the border with Turkey, although he pointed out that Turkish troops have been operating very close to the border as part of a recent buildup.

"I have made contacts with many border posts and none report any incident," he tells the wire service.

Update at 1:58 p.m. ET: AP has added more details to its story, which now reports: One official said the troops went less than two miles inside Iraq and were still there in late afternoon. "It is a hot pursuit, not an incursion," one official said.
Posted by Mike Carney at 12:30 PM/ET, June 06, 2007 in Iraq, Mideast, World | Permalink