Turkey's National Security Council (MGK) on Friday slammed a planned independence referendum in Iraq's Kurdistan region next week as "illegitimate" and "unacceptable".

"The illegitimate and unacceptable nature of the referendum ... has been specified once again," the MGK said in a statement after a meeting chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, warning that Ankara was prepared to use its "rights" in line with international agreements