Turkish Special Unit in US Custody in Iraq

It has been claimed that the officers were taken under surveillance for plotting to assassinate the governor of Kirkuk.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed and condemned the raid, calling it "an ugly incident" that "should not have happened."

"For an allied country to behave in such a way toward its ally cannot be explained," he said.

The U.S. gave no immediate reaction.

It is not known why the soldiers were detained.

The detentions took place Friday afternoon at a Turkish special forces office in the Iraqi city of Sulaimaniyah.

News reports said 100 U.S. troops detained three officers and eight non-commissioned officers, moving the detainees to Kirkuk.

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul was in contact with U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Turkey closed the Habur border gate with Iraq after the incident.

The Turkish deputy chief of staff released a statement, which slammed the incident as a mistake that would affect the U.S.-Turkish relations which date back to half a century.

The statement denied that the Turkish troops were planning to assassinate the governor of Kirkuk, asserting that Turkish troops were officially deployed in northern Iraq in coordination with the U.S. to monitor the situation in northern Iraqi cities dominated by Turkmen.

Washington and Ankara agreed April 10 on deploying Turkish military observers in northern Iraq. A 30-strong Turkish unit was then sent there.

The U.S. assured Ankara that it would send reinforcements to Kirkuk to replace Kurdish forces who seized the city after the downfall of Baghdad.

Three officers and eight non-commissioned officers were arrested on Friday in Sulaymaniyah, the Turkish daily Hurriyet newspaper reported.

It added that following the incident Turkey had closed the border gate of al-Khabour and only allowed U.N. vehicles to pass.