Iraq summons Turkey envoy in protest at Kurdistan offensive

Turkey on Monday said it has launched an air and ground offensive against militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq.

Iraq handed Turkish ambassador Ali Riza Guney a “firmly-worded note of protest” urging its northern neighbor to “put an end to acts of provocation and unacceptable violations,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Iraqi President Barham Saleh, himself a Kurd, on Tuesday condemned the Turkish offensive as a “violation of Iraqi sovereignty and a threat to national security.”