The United States and its coalition partners had failed in its war against terror in Iraq, according to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Speaking in an interview published by the London-based Arabic newspaper Al Hayat, Erdogan cited the inability of the US-led coalition forces to stop the terrorist group the PKK from launching attacks from bases inside Iraq to support his comments.

"The PKK terrorist organisation takes shelter in Northern Iraq and infiltrates into our country to conduct acts of terror," he said. "For this reason, it is difficult to say that combating terrorism in Iraq is successful."

In the interview, Erdogan said that the people of Lebanon should look upon the Turkish soldiers deployed in their country to serve with the United Nations peacekeeping contingent there as guests.