UPDATE: Foiled spy plot strains Turkey-KRG relations
PKK abducts four Turkish agents in Sulaimaniya who were allegedly targeting the group's leader, elevating tensions ahead of the KRG's controversial independence referendum.
UPDATE: This story has been updated to include comment and perspective from a Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) official, who disputed some key allegations by PUK officials about the spy maneuvers that led to the abduction of the Turkish agents.
SULAIMANIYA - The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has captured four Turkish intelligence operatives in Sulaimaniya after they allegedly attempted to arrest or assassinate a top leader of the Kurdish guerrilla group.
The incident is putting an acute strain on relations between Iraqi Kurds and the Turkish government at a critical moment. Ankara has already expressed opposition to a Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) independence referendum scheduled for Sept. 25, largely for fear that it would bolster Kurdish separatists like the PKK in Turkey.
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