Eurasia Press & News
Turkish fighter jets have pounded more than 20 targets belonging to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels inside and outside the country.
The warplanes bombed 21 PKK targets in the Avashin-Basyan region in northern Iraq as well as the Buzul and Iki Yaka mountains in Turkey’s southeast, AFP quoted a Turkish army statement as saying.
“The planes returned safely to base after successfully completing their mission,” the statement said.
The strike was launched in response to Kurdish rebels’ Friday attack which killed 15 Turkish troops near the border.
Following the PKK offensive Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to give a response to the Kurdish rebels attacks.
Erdogan’s threat clearly signifies that Turkey will stage a massive ground operation against the Kurd rebels in near future, said political analyst Mohammad Nour ul-din.
Turkey’s future aggressions against PKK would be more massive and violent than that of last winter as the US and Europe are in serious trouble with financial crises. Being entangled with their ailing economy, the Western states won’t make complaints against Turkey, he added.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization internationally by a number of states and organizations, including Turkey, US, and EU. More than 40,000 people have lost their lives since PKK launched its armed campaign in 1984. The Kurdistan Workers Party, has been fighting for self-rule in Turkey’s southeast since then.
Turkey has launched several aerial attacks and one major ground operation against insurgent bases across the border with Iraq, this year.
AO/RA