
Iraq said on Tuesday it would shut down the operations of Kurdish rebels based on its soil, hoping to head off a threatened invasion to crush them by Turkish troops massed on the border.
8220;The PKK is a terrorist organisation and we have taken a decision to shut down their offices and not allow them to operate on Iraqi soil,8221; Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said.
8220;We will also work on limiting their terrorist activities which are threatening Iraq and Turkey,8221; Maliki said after crisis talks in Baghdad with Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan.
He gave no details on how the rebels could be prevented from launching attacks from their remote mountain bases. Analysts say military action would have to involve US forces in Iraq.