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U.S. Works to Curb Turkish Attack on Rebels in Iraq

Turkey has gathered forces and heavy weapons on its border with Iraq after an attack Sunday by Kurdish rebels on Turkish troops left eight Turkish soldiers missing and 12 dead. Meantime, there has been a lot of diplomatic traffic.

Turkey's prime minister says he has asked U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for "speedy steps from the U.S." in cracking down on Kurdish rebels. He says Rice asked "for a few days" in a conversation Sunday night.

The United States, which is urging Turkey to use non-military means to resolve the conflict, opposes any unilateral action by Turkey, fearing it could destabilize the most stable part of Iraq.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Michele Kelemen has been with NPR for two decades, starting as NPR's Moscow bureau chief and now covering the State Department and Washington's diplomatic corps. Her reports can be heard on all NPR News programs, including Morning Edition and All Things Considered.
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