(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) ANKARA, Sept 25 (KUNA) -- The Turkish Army General Staff has announced that the Turkish and Iraqi forces would hold joint exercise on joint borders as of Tuesday.

In a statement on its official website, the Turkish General Staff said Monday that the third phase of the military exercise would start on Tuesday jointly with the Iraqi military in the Habur border gate, also known as Ibrahim Khalil border crossing, on the Turkish-Iraqi border in Silopi district of Sirnak province.

The statement noted that the area sits to the north of the Syrian and Iraqi borders and contains the Habur border crossing, which provides the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq with its main access point to the outside world.

The announcement coincided with the referendum organized the Kurdish regional government to the secede province from Iraq. (end) rs.ibi

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