Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets President of Iraq Barham Salih (R) at Vahdettin Pavilion in Istanbul, Turkey on May 28, 2019. Photo: Turkish Presidential Press Service/AFP
ISTANBUL,— MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met his Iraqi counterpart Barham Salih on Tuesday while the Turkish military launched an operation against Kurdish militants in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The two leaders held talks in Istanbul before attending a Ramadan dinner together.
A picture on the Turkish presidency’s official website showed Erdogan and Salih gathering around a round table together with their wives.The visit came as the Turkish military launched an air and ground offensive in mountainous Iraqi Kurdistan against the hideouts of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Special forces and combat drones were also involved in the offensive which started late on Monday, the defence ministry said in a statement.
The operation aims at eradicating “caves and shelters used by terrorist groups”, it said.
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