Iranian troops enter Iraq's Kurdish region

English.news.cn   2010-06-01 22:48:28

BAGHDAD, June 1 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian troops entered the Iraqi semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan on Tuesday, Dubai-based Arabiyah Pan Arab news television reported.

The Iranian troops have entered 5 km inside the Iraqi territories, the channel said without giving further details about where exactly the incursion took place.

Two days ago, the Iranian artillery shelled the border areas in the Kurdish northern region, killing a 14-old-year girl and caused material damages, according to Iraqi border guards source.

Iranian troops frequently pounded the mountainous Iraq-Iran border areas targeting the militants from the Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK), an Iranian anti-government Kurdish group which allegedly is sheltering in the Iraqi Kurdish region.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry has summoned the Iranian ambassador and Turkish Charge d'affair to protest the pounding of the Iraqi territories.

The PJAK is a militant Kurdish nationalist group, which has been accused by Iran of carrying out numerous attacks against the Iranian troops in western Iran. Iran believes that PJAK has close ties to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and is sheltering in bases in the mountainous region of northern Iraq.

About 220 Kurdish families have already fled the area, the TV channel said.