TEHRAN – Iran has denounced a series of attacks carried out by Turkish warplanes in northwestern Iraq as a violation of the Arab country’s sovereignty.

“Violation of sovereignty of states with any motive and justification constitutes an infringement of international law,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Wednesday.

Qassemi further said that the attack prepares the ground for escalation of instability in the region.

Turkish warplanes on Tuesday struck targets on Sinjar Mountain in northern Iraq as well as a mountainous region in Syria.

The Iraqi government condemned the air raid, which killed at least six Peshmerga Kurdish fighters. “The Iraqi government condemns and rejects the strikes carried out by Turkish aircraft on Iraqi territory,” government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi said in a statement on Tuesday.

Turkey frequently carries out airstrikes in the mountainous regions of northern Iraq without coordination with the Iraqi government.

Ankara has also deployed troops into Iraq, a move which has been described by the Iraqi government as a violation of its sovereignty.

The Turkish forces are based in a town near the city of Mosul, which is currently the focus of a massive military operation aimed at freeing the key city from Daesh (ISIS) militants. 

MH/PA