• 10,000 Turkish troops begin offensive in Northern Iraq to combat Kurdisk PKK rebels.
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[release]A major Turkish military offensive is continuing in northern Iraq, following a deadly attack by Kurdish rebels inside Turkey. [b]Ankara said 22 battalions, or about 10,000 soldiers, were taking part in the operation in northern Iraq and also south-eastern Turkey.[/b] The troops - including commandos and paramilitary forces - are being backed by war planes and helicopters. On Tuesday, [b]Kurdish PKK rebels killed 24 soldiers near the Iraqi border.[/b] [b]The attacks in Hakkari province are thought to have inflicted the biggest loss on Turkish forces since 1993 and President Abdullah Gul has vowed to avenge them.[/b] In recent months, violence between the army and Kurdish rebels from the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) has mounted. PKK guerrillas are seeking greater autonomy in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated south-east.[b]Tens of thousands of people have died in the conflict since 1984.[/b] Nato support In a statement on Thursday, the Turkish military said that 22 battalions were involved in the operation. It said the ground troops were being reinforced by F-16 and F-4 jets and Cobra helicopter gunships. The operation was focusing on five separate areas, the statement added, without giving details how many troops were deployed in Turkey and Iraq. At a televised news conference, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: "The military is determinedly carrying out this [operation], both from the air and the ground." Unconfirmed reports say that 21 Kurdish militants have been killed since the Turkish operation was launched on Wednesday. The Kurdish rebel raids - thought to be at least two simultaneous ambushes - took place in Cukurca and the district of Yuksekova. [b]Ankara said that 24 soldiers were killed and another 18 injured.[/b] [b]Turkey's army is a conscript one and many families will have sent sons to serve. The Turkish parliament has recently renewed the law that gives Turkish forces carte blanche to pursue rebels over the border.[/b] A spokesman for the PKK, Dostdar Hamo, on Wednesday confirmed that clashes had been taking place in two areas, the Associated Press news agency reported. The US and Nato have issued statements in support of the Turkish government.[/release] [url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15390006]News from the Front[/url]
Turkey is a US ally, the Kurds in Iraq are crazy for allowing attacks to happen from their side. They have a good thing going in northern Iraq right now but that could end in a hurry.
At least Turkey has the balls to deal with them.
I hope Turkey only attack Kurdish combatants, and don't re-live another Palestine-Israel situation.
This is known in the military world as the "NO FUCK YOU!" strategy
God- if Turkey would just give the Kurds legal recognition, then they may be able to come to some type of peace. I don't support the PKK's methods at all, but the Kurds have been through enough shit throughout the years. Turkey is putting themselves into this situation. And I swear if they know what's good for them, they won't attack Kurdish civilians.
Cripes, that's alotta guys on the ground. I know we had at least 100,000 back during the peak, but still, that was in the entirety of Iraq. Also, I agree with Seed Eater, I wish the Kurds would just get the formal recognition they deserve.
This will give no real progress- a repeat of when they intervened in the region in late 2007-early 2008 under similar pretexts. You can not solve problems like this by thinking you can keep using military action against it. Until Kurds are no longer treated like second-class citizens and marginalized, they will continue to resist the government where they can. As for the ""why" Iraq can't do anything about the PKK that's in the Qandil ranges- it's a hard mountain pass to patrol and cover. Frankly the 'benefits' Iraq- or more specifically the Iraqi Kurdistan region would receive would be minimal. The PKK rebels would only give them trouble and Turkey's relationship with the region has thusfar been mostly one sided- from trade up to water sharing agreements with regards to damns being made upstream in Turkey's territories. For what it's worth though the PKK rebels don't care much for the PUK or KDP- the two major power groups in Iraqi Kurdistan. In fact during much of the early 1990s they were involved in fighting both of them, and those two groups had actually allowed the Turkish military into the region to chase PKK, which they continue to do so for the most part. I mean I find it funny with Turkey's rantings about Israel and its deplorable treatment of Palestinians, that it basically acts in the same, unilateral disproportionate warfare towards another peoples, that these kind of things can only be solved by screaming 'terrorist' over and over again and ignoring the social problems.
My friend went to Turkey today :v:
Israel should send a free Kurdistan flotilla, It'd be funny to watch how Turkey would react to such an event. Or a flotilla destined for Cyprus.
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