US, Turkey Express Regret Over Detention of Turkish Soldiers
VOA News
15 Jul 2003, 07:59 UTC
The United States and Turkey have expressed regret over the recent detention of 11 Turkish soldiers by U.S. troops in northern Iraq.
A joint U.S.-Turkish military statement issued Tuesday expressed sorrow over the July fourth incident and the treatment Turkish soldiers went through under detention.
U.S. troops detained the Turkish special forces soldiers in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah. U.S. officials alleged the Turkish soldiers were planning to assassinate an Iraqi Kurdish official. Turkey denied the allegation. The soldiers were released two days later after being questioned in Baghdad.
The incident angered some Turkish officials, who said it threatened to further strain relations with the United States. Relations had already been strained since March, when Turkey rejected a U.S. request to allow the deployment of U.S. troops on Turkish territory for the war in Iraq.
Turkey has long maintained a military presence in northern Iraq to pursue Kurdish rebels who are seeking autonomy from Ankara and have set up bases in Iraq.
Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.
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