Iraqi Foreign Ministry vehemently condemned the fresh aggression carried out by Turkish armed forces in northern Iraq on November 30.

A ministry spokesman said in a statement carried by the Iraqi News Agency that Turkish armed forces estimated at two brigades launched on November 23 a fresh aggression against northern Iraq.

Turkish troops, which were stationed in northern Iraq's Matin Mountain and Cara Mountain regions, were involved in the fresh military action under the pretext of cracking down on rebels of Turkey's outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), he said.

Such aggression constitutes a flagrant violation of Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity and infringes on the UN Charter and international law, he added.

"The government of Iraq demands the Turkish government pull out its aggressive forces from Iraqi territories and refrain from repeating such hostile acts," said the spokesman.

He affirmed that Iraq utterly rejected the "flimsy pretexts and excuses" made by Turkey to justify its action.

The new round of attack came as part of a string of aggressions committed by Turkish troops against Iraqi territories since the "US-led aggression" in 1991, said the spokesman.

It coincides with the aggressive military acts by the US and Britain against Iraq to interfere in its internal affairs and to perpetuate the abnormal status in northern Iraq, he said.

After the 1991 Gulf War, the Iraqi government lost its control of the northern Kurdish autonomous region, and Turkish government troops often launched cross-border offensives against rebels of the PKK who have been seeking shelter there.

The spokesman warned that "Iraq preserves its full right to define time and venue to reply to such aggressive Turkish act."