Top Turk general says Kurd state risk for Turkey

ISTANBUL, Oct 1 (Reuters) The head of Turkey's powerful army General Staff said today establishing an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq would pose both a political and security risk for Turkey.

General Yasar Buyukanit, addressing military cadets at a ceremony in Istanbul, also said the armed forces faced ''systematic'' external and internal attacks. He vowed to defend Turkey's strong centralised nation state and secular system of government against all efforts to undermine them.

REUTERS SKB AS1612