Kerkuklu: I Did Not Inform

Elsewhere, the Iraq Kurdistan Patriotic Union (IKYB) leader, Celal Talabani, stated that his organization had nothing to do with the detention of Turkish soldiers in Suleymaniye. Visiting Russia, Talabani claimed American soldiers acted on their own, and he said, “All of the American soldiers who were involved in the incident came from Kirkuk. They did not inform us beforehand and did not ask for permission. We did not want Turkish soldiers to be detained and to see them in that situation. We invited them, and they are our guests. We told the Americans that what they have done is wrong.“

The Turkmen Front Kirkuk Branch Head and Member of the Kirkuk Provincial Parliament, Kemal Yaycili, stated that the Governor of Kerkuk was a nice person and a true Kirkukian, so the assassination claims were baseless. Labelling the detention of Turkish soldiers by Americans as ‘treacherous mischief’, Yaycili said, “The Americans, with the Suleymaniye raid, aimed to end the political and military support that Turkey provides to us”.

Adnan Sarikahya / Kerkuk / IRAQ

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