Middle East News
Iraq's al-Maliki in Turkey for anti-terrorism talks (1st Lead)
Dec 24, 2008, 8:50 GMT
Ankara - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki arrived in the Turkish capital Ankara Wednesday for talks with Turkish leaders that will concentrate on how to deal with Kurdish separatists that operate out of northern Iraq.
Speaking on arrival at Ankara's Esenboga Airport, al-Maliki said work would continue on a tripartite commission comprising US, Iraqi and Turkish officials aimed at dealing with the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK).
The Turkish military estimates there are between 4,000 and 5,000 PKK guerrillas holed up in camps in mountainous northern Iraq from which they launch attacks inside Turkey.
On Tuesday ,Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said military action was not the way to end the PKK insurgency and also called on the PKK to lay down their weapons.
Ankara blames the separatist group for the deaths of more than 32,000 people since the early 1980s when the PKK began its fight for independence or autonomy for the mainly Kurdish-populated south-east of Turkey.
The PKK is considered by Iraq, the United States and the European Union to be a terrorist group.
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