A Kurdish rebel commander has voiced concern that the separatists might become
the target of a crackdown in Iraqi Kurdistan under pressure from Turkey, a news
agency close to the rebels reported Monday.
But the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader, Murat Karayilan, called on the
Iraqi Kurdish leadership not to cooperate with Turkey in any new action.
"There could be air strikes against our movement. We know that there are also
assassination and abduction plans targeting our movement's leadership," the
commander told the Firat news agency, considered to be a mouthpiece of the PKK.
He urged leaders of Kurdistan Regional Kurdistan (KRG) not to assist Turkey.
"No action (against the PKK) can be successful... as long as we, the Kurds,
preserve our unity... No one can achieve results as long as we do not show
weakness," he said.
Karayilan spoke ahead of a crucial meeting between Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan and US President George W. Bush on Monday. Ankara has threatened
to strike PKK bases in Iraqi Kurdistan if Baghdad and Washington fail to take
urgent action against the rebels.
It accuses the Iraqi Kurds of aiding the group, listed as a terrorist
organisation by much of the international community.
On Saturday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice discussed the issue with her
Turkish and Iraqi counterparts, Ali Babacan and Hoshyar Zebari, on the sidelines
of an international gathering in Istanbul.
Zebari, himself a Kurd, said Iraq is "very serious" on curbing the PKK and
pledged action by both the Baghdad government and the KRG.
