Turkish General Staff says it has kicked off a previously unannounced drill near its border with Iraq, as the semi-autonomous northern Iraqi Kurdish region prepares to hold a referendum on independence.
The military says the exercise - a show of force ahead of the vote - started on Monday near the town of Silopi, close to the Habur border gate between Turkey and the Iraqi Kurdish region. The news comes against the background of the upcoming independence referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan, due to take place on September 25.
Despite opposition from Turkey, Iran and the United States, the Kurdistan Regional Government's leaders have said they will hold the non-binding independence vote.
Ankara's national security council will meet on September 22 to discuss the Ankara's official position. On Saturday, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said the planned Sept. 25 referendum was as an issue of national security, and warned that Turkey would take any necessary steps in response.
With the largest Kurdish population in the region, Turkish government also fears that a "yes" vote would fuel separatism in its southeast, where militants of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) have waged a battle for three decades.
