WASHINGTON, July 11: Iraqi Kurdish leaders are arming rebels with US-made weapons for attacks inside Turkey, the Turkish ambassador said here on Wednesday, warning that Ankara could not rule out a military response.

Ambassador Nabi Sensoy confirmed “an ongoing movement” of Turkish forces along the border with Iraq in response to the activity by the PKK, a Kurdish separatist group.

“On the one hand, this part of ... normal precautions being taken within our borders,” he said. “But of course, I cannot say Turkey would be able to rule out any alternative in the fight against the terrorists.” The ambassador, speaking to defence reporters here, would not comment on reports by Iraqi officials that Turkey has amassed 140,000 troops along the border.

But he said the Turkish leadership and public were “to the brink of our patience” over the situation.

Sensoy accused Massoud Barzani, president of the autonomous Kurdish government in northern Iraq, and his forces of providing supplies and safe havens to the PKK.

“We have enough information to prove that Barzani forces, and as a leader Barzani himself in the north, is not only providing safe haven to the terrorists and the terrorist organization, but also providing logistical support — food and other means, weapons, ammunitions, explosives which are being used by the terrorist organizations in their operations,” he said.

Weapons of US origin had been recovered from the PKK, he said.

“We know the United States is supplying arms to the northern Iraqi administration, and it is just possible that they are ending up in the hands of the terrorist organizations,” he said.

Sensoy said three-way US-Iraqi-Turkish meetings had produced no results, and cooperation from the Iraqi side has not been forthcoming.

He called on the Iraqis to declare the PKK a terrorist organization to establish a legal basis for halting its activities in northern Iraq.

“We cannot really rule out any form of fight against the terrorist,” he said.

“As I said emotions are running very high in Turkey, and the government should really take into consideration what the feelings of the people are,” he added.—AFP