Iraq summons Turkish ambassador after air strike kills two police officers
Iraq has summoned the Turkish ambassador after an air strike in northern Iraq killed Iraqi police officers who were engaged in discussions with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
The foreign ministry said the ambassador would be given "a letter of protest with strong words" rejecting such aggression, while the Iraqi presidency denounced the "dangerous violation of Iraqi sovereignty".
The foreign ministry added that a meeting with Turkey's defence minister, Hulusi Akar, would no longer be going head on Thursday as planned.
The strike, which took place late on Tuesday north of Erbil province, killed two guard battalion commanders and the driver of their vehicle, the army said in a statement.
Ihsan Chalabi, mayor of nearby Sidakan, told AFP that the drone strike in the Pradost region had targeted "Iraqi border guard commanders while they were in meetings with PKK fighters".
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The PKK is based in northern Iraq where they have fought a guerilla war with the Turkish state since 1984.
'Violation' of sovereignty
Turkey launched two parallel operations, Operation Claw-Tiger and Operation Claw-Eagle, in mid-June, targeting the PKK by land and air, respectively.
At least five Iraqi civilians, primarily in the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) area of the country, have been killed in air strikes. The police killed on Tuesday are the first members of the Iraqi security forces to be killed so far.
Thousands have also been displaced, with Christian villages in the northern Duhok province being particularly affected.
Rudaw reported in July that six villages in Duhok's Kani Masi district had been emptied of their inhabitants.
Turkey has also set up a number of bases within Iraqi territory, something which Baghdad has railed against but has been unable to effectively counter.
On Wednesday, Iraqi President Barham Salih called on Ankara to "stop all its military operations" in the region.
The Arab League, in a statement on Wednesday, also condemned the attack as a violation of Iraq's sovereignty.
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