Turkish tanks engage in drills on Iraqi border ahead of Kurdish independence vote

Turkish tanks have engaged in large scale military drills on the country’s border with Iraq a week before a Kurdish independence vote which Ankara deems as a national security threat.

On Monday, some 100 military vehicles, mostly tanks and vehicles carrying missiles, took part in war games which were launched at Habur border gate, a crossing point into Iraq.

The Turkish military has announced that the drill will continue until September 26, one day after the upcoming Kurdish independence vote.

The region is adamant to hold the referendum on September 25 despite regional and international opposition. Critics say partitioning Iraq could be the last thing the country, scarred by years of violence, needs.

Also on Monday, the UN urged Iraq’s Kurdish leaders to scrap the upcoming secession vote, saying it would undermine the ongoing battle in the Arab country against Daesh terrorists.    

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi also formally demanded suspension of the upcoming Kurdish independence referendum. Iraqi Kurdish lawmakers on Friday approved holding the secession vote in the face of fierce opposition from the central government in Baghdad, the United Nations and the US.

President of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Massoud Barzani told a rally for secession in the northern city of Dohuk that the Iraqi Kurdistan did "not take legitimacy from anyone.”

Meanwhile, Britain's Defense Secretary Michael Fallon has also said he would try to persuade the KRG president to call off the controversial independence referendum.

Read More:

• UN chief urges Kurdistan to scrap secession vote plan
• Iraqi Kurdish secession vote ‘playing with fire’: PM Abadi
• Iraqi PM demands suspension of Kurdish independence referendum

Turkish jets kill 8 PKK terrorists

Meanwhile, the Turkish Air Force has killed at least four PKK terrorists after they were marked by a drone in Mount Suki region, on the Iraqi side of the border, said a statement issued by the Hakkari Governor's Office. 

Later in the day, another four PKK terrorists were killed in an airstrike at Avasin Basyanarea of northern Iraq, said the Turkish General Staff.

“Those who are chasing dreams in Syria and Iraq should know very well that any attempt that threatens our national security, from inside or outside our borders, will be immediately retaliated in kind,” said Turkish Prime Minister Yildirim in a speech in the southern Turkish town of Sanliurfa after the airstrike were announced.

Read More:

• Turkish jets bomb northern Iraq, kill PKK militants
• PKK bombing leaves 17 soldiers injured in southeastern Turkey
• 50 Turkish fighter jets bomb PKK positions in north Iraq: Report

PKK militants have been waging a bloody campaign in southeastern Turkey for decades, which has left more than 40,000 people dead.  

Turkey regularly bombs the mountainous border area between Iraq and Turkey where PKK militants are based. Ankara has also deployed troops into the Iraqi soil, triggering a diplomatic crisis with Baghdad which brought them to the brink of a war at one point.

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