Turkey announced yesterday that it has launched a new air and ground offensive against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, which involves special forces and military marches. Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said commando units, drones and attack helicopters bombed PKK positions in three areas close to the Turkish border. The PKK, which Ankara and its Western allies classify as a “terrorist” organization, has been leading an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.
Turkey usually carries out attacks in Iraq, where the PKK has bases and training camps in the Sinjar region and in the mountainous regions of Iraqi Kurdistan bordering Turkey. In turn, the representative of the PKK in Iraq said that “the occupying army, which tried to land troops by helicopter, also wanted to advance by land.” “There are violent clashes between the Turkish army and the People’s Defense Forces,” he added, asking for anonymity, referring to the military wing of the PKK.
The Defense Ministry said the operation began after reports surfaced that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was planning a large-scale attack on Turkey, although the Turkish media had been talking about it for weeks.
