Iraq Condemns Turkey for N.iraq Patrol Mandate

BAGHDAD, June 26 (Reuters) - Iraq condemned Turkey on Tuesday for extending the
mandate for flights by U.S. and British warplanes patrolling a no-fly zone over northern Iraq.

Turkey's parliament on Monday extended the mandate for six months, as it has done since
northern Iraq fell out of Baghdad's control after the 1991 Gulf War.

"This decision contradicts the Turkish claims about preserving the unity of Iraq's territory
and non-interference in its internal affairs," a Foreign Ministry spokesman said in a
statement carried by the official Iraqi news agency INA.

"Moreover, this decision perpetuates the abnormal situation in northern Iraq," the spokesman
added. He urged Turkey to stop allowing the flights from its territory.

The flights from Turkey's southern Incirlik airbase have long been a crucial part of U.S.
policy against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Baghdad does not recognise the no-fly zone
over the Kurdish-controlled area and has targeted the patrolling planes with its anti-aircraft
systems.

NATO member Turkey's cooperation with its western allies against Baghdad helps Ankara
to conduct an illicit oil trade with Iraqi Kurds and to carry out cross-border military
operations in the enclave in pursuit of its own rebel Kurds.