Turkish Cobra attack helicopters fired missiles at positions of
the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) on the second day of a
massive operation on Cudi Mountain in southeastern province of
Sirnak, local media reported on Wednesday.
According to the report, operations continued in southeastern
province of Hakkari as well as in Tunceli of eastern Anatolia,
which is located far from the border.
The operation in Sirnak came after at least 100 PKK rebels were
trapped in the Cudi Mountain area after Turkish armed forces
blocked exit routes to northern Iraq on Monday, said the
report.
Three soldiers died in the ongoing operation in Sirnak and
another one died in Tunceli in a landmine explosion, making the
total number of casualties in the past 24 hours to four, while the
number of PKK rebels killed in recent operations rose to 17.
Governor's Office in Sirnak said the security forces have
arrested five members of the PKK, including university students who
were trying to cross border to treat PKK rebels, added the
report.
Turkey says it has attempted through all diplomatic channels to
force the Iraqi government and the United States to crack down on
PKK camps in northern Iraq and now it considers a military
operation.
The issue will still be on agenda of the US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice who is to visit Ankara on Friday.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also scheduled to visit
Washington on November 5 for a meeting with President George W.
Bush, which is widely believed to be vital in determining whether
Turkey will launch military incursion into northern Iraq.
Meanwhile, the international conference on Iraq which will be
held in Istanbul on November 2-4 is also expected to focus on the
border crisis.
Turkey has now massed up to 100,000 troops along the mountainous
border with Iraq in preparation for the cross-border operation to
crush the about 3,000 strong PKK rebels, which was approved by the
Turkish parliament earlier this month.
The PKK took up arms against Turkey in 1984 with the aim of
creating an ethnic homeland in the southeast. More than 30,000
people have been killed in the more than two decade conflict.
(Xinhua News Agency November 1, 2007)
