debkafile: 10,000 Turkish troops cross into N. Iraq to hunt down PKK rebels

The land offensive early Friday, Feb. 22, was backed by with large armored forces, fighter jets and helicopters. The Turkish military said its troops would return home as soon as its goals of destroying rebel bases inside Iraqi Kurdistan were achieved. debkafile‘s military sources add: The question now is: Will the Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga put up resistance to the Turkish incursion? Late Thursday, the first Turkish units to enter the territory were cornered by local militiamen who threatened to shoot. In the past, Iraqi Kurdistan leaders have declared in the past that if Turkish troops set foot in their territory, there would be war between the autonomous Iraqi region and Turkey.