BRUSSELS: Nato Security General Jens Stoltenberg has called an emergency meeting tomorrow to discuss security at the request of Turkey after last week’s suicide bombing there and Turkish security operations against Islamic State (IS) and PKK Kurdish militants.
In a statement yesterday, Nato said the North Atlantic Council, which includes the ambassadors of all 28 Nato allies, would meet following a request by Turkey to hold consultations under Article 4 of Nato’s founding Washington Treaty.
“Turkey requested the meeting in view of the seriousness of the situation after the heinous terrorist attacks in recent days, and to inform allies of the measures it is taking,” Nato said, adding “Nato allies follow developments closely and stand in solidarity with Turkey.”
Meanwhile, the Turkish military launched new air strikes on Kurdish militants in northern Iraq as part of a two-pronged “anti-terror” cross-border offensive against Islamic State (IS) jihadists and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants after a wave of violence in the country. Turkish F-16s took off from Diyarbakir in the southeast and headed towards the PKK’s rear bases in Mount Kandil.
“At around 9pm , Turkish planes started bombing some of our positions in two areas” north of Dohuk and north of Arbil, PKK spokesman Bakhtiar Dogan in Iraq said. The White House backed Turkey’s right to bomb the PKK the US categorises as a terror group.
Agencies
