ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The deployment of Turkish military to an area near the Iraqi border is related to the fight against terrorism and developments in Iraq, Turkey's defence minister said on Tuesday. Turkey's armed forces have began deploying tanks and other armoured vehicles to the Silopi area of the southeastern Sirnak province near the Iraqi border, military sources said earlier. Tal Afar, some 170 km (106 miles) from Silopi, is home to a sizeable ethnic Turkmen population with historic and cultural ties to Turkey. Sirnak province, where Silopi is located, is also one of the main areas of conflict between the Turkish military and PKK militants, who have bases in northern Iraq. (Reporting by Can Sezer, Humeyra Pamuk and Daren Butler; Writing by David Dolan)

Source: The Star November 01, 2016 13:38 UTC