Prime Minister: Turkey In 'Hot Pursuit' Of Kurdish Rebels
Add bookmark
October 19, 2011
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey was in "hot pursuit" after Kurdish militants killed more than two dozen soldiers in attacks in the southeast, near the border with Iraq.
Erdogan did not provide details on the operation which he said was "within the limits of international law." He put the number of soldiers killed at 24.
Erdogan canceled a visit to Kazakhstan after the attack.
It was the deadliest Kurdish rebel attack in Turkey in several years.
Turkish media reports said Turkish soldiers, backed by military aircraft launched an incursion into northern Iraq following attacks on several military outposts and police stations by militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
The PKK said clashes were taking place in two separate areas near the Turkish-Iraqi border.
Kurdish separatists took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984 and more than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict since then. The PKK is listed as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
compiled from agency reports
Erdogan did not provide details on the operation which he said was "within the limits of international law." He put the number of soldiers killed at 24.
Erdogan canceled a visit to Kazakhstan after the attack.
It was the deadliest Kurdish rebel attack in Turkey in several years.
Turkish media reports said Turkish soldiers, backed by military aircraft launched an incursion into northern Iraq following attacks on several military outposts and police stations by militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
The PKK said clashes were taking place in two separate areas near the Turkish-Iraqi border.
Kurdish separatists took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984 and more than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict since then. The PKK is listed as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
compiled from agency reports
Tags:
Turkey
