Turkey Is Furious About
The Killing Of Its 13 Soldiers
Oct 8, 2007
Kurdish freedom fighters shot dead 13 Turkish
soldiers on Sunday, the worst such incident in years and likely to put more
pressure on the Turkish government to authorize a cross-border military strike
against Kurdish bases in Southern Kurdistan, reported Turkish daily news today.
Also Sunday, an explosion in a trash bin in Istanbul wounded five people,
including a police officer.
Turkish cabinet will meet today to discuss additional measures against PKK.
While Premier Erdogan hinted the government may ask parliamentary authorization
for a cross-border operation against the PKK, it was announced that the
so-called top anti-terror board of the country will also meet today. Erdogan
said the attacks on Turkey from separatist hideouts in Southern Kurdistan will
be one of the issues he will discuss with US President Bush during a visit to
White House next month.
Large-scale Turkish
military operations are underway against 1500 Kurdish guerrillas in Shirnak,
Siirt and Hakkari provinces in Turkish-occupied Kurdistan where security
zones were established in early June. Up to 60,000 soldiers are deployed, mostly
from the Turkish paramilitary Gendarmerie, working under Gendarmerie regional
commands. Also, tens of thousands of Turkish troops are also conducting
"search-and-destroy" operations with the support of helicopter-gunships in
provinces of Bitlis, Diyarbakir, Bingol and Dersim.
