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Tanks & howitzers: Turkish Army stages massive drills on Iraqi border (VIDEO, PHOTOS)
The Turkish armed forces have staged military exercises involving tanks and howitzers on the Kurdish border. The drills come as a Kurdish independence vote is scheduled to take place in one week.
The drills were conducted on Monday near the town of Silopi in southeastern Turkey, on the border with Iraq, the Turkish armed forces said in a statement.
“Simultaneously with this exercise, counter-terrorism operations in the border region continue,” the statement read, as cited by AFP.
Around 100 military vehicles – including tanks, towed howitzers, and launching pads – were involved in the drills, Hurriyet news reports, citing Dogan news agency.
The drills took place a week ahead of an Iraqi Kurdistan independence vote – scheduled for September 25.
On Saturday, the Iraqi city of Erbil saw thousands of protesters turning up at a pro-independence rally. Baghdad opposes the Kurdish attempt to establish an independent state.
“We will not allow the creation of a second Israel in the north of Iraq,” Vice President Nouri al-Maliki said on Sunday, as cited by AFP.
