Turkish Diplomat: "We have carried out a series of operations against Al-Qaeda"

(AFP)
The United States has been in contact with Turkey over new files to be released by WikiLeaks, a senior Turkish diplomat said on Friday, stressing Ankara's commitment to fighting terrorism.
According to media reports, the planned release by the whistleblowing website includes papers suggesting that Turkey helped Al-Qaeda militants in Iraq, and that the United States helped Iraq-based terrorists fighting Turkey.
The US embassy in Ankara "gave us information on the issue, just as other countries have been informed," the diplomat, who declined to be named, told.
He declined to elaborate about what message the US conveyed over the upcoming WikiLeaks release.
"Fighting terrorism is a priority for Turkey... We have carried out a series of operations against Al-Qaeda (in Turkey) and support for them is out of the question," he said.
The dioplomat also praised US support against the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), whose militants have long taken refuge in neighbouring northern Iraq and used the region as a springboard for attacks on Turkey.
"We have efficient cooperation against the PKK with our ally and friend, the United States. We are happy with it and we hope it will continue," he said.
A US embassy official declined to comment on the planned Wikileaks release, saying it was "pure speculation."
She also reaffirmed US support for Turkey against the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist group by both Ankara and Washington and much of the international community.
US policy "has never been nor will ever be in support of the PKK. Anything that implies otherwise is nonsense," she said. "We are committed together with the Turkish government in fighting terrorism, whether from Al-Qaeda or the PKK."
WikiLeaks has not said what will be contained in its upcoming release, indicating only it will be "seven times" the size of the Iraq War logs in which it posted 400,000 secret documents.
The US State Department said Wednesday that US embassies around the world had "begun the process of informing governments that a release of documents is possible in the near future."
"These revelations... are going to create tensions on our relationships between our diplomats and our friends around the world," said spokesman Philip Crowley.