Retaliatory strike
August 18, 2011
A squadron of Turkish fighter jets bombed guerilla positions of the outlawed Kurdish Workers Party in northern Iraq on Wednesday night following a bomb attack by PKK rebels earlier in the day, which left 12 Turkish soldiers dead and 11 others injured.
The retaliatory strikes lasted several hours, Turkish television reported Thursday.
The Turkish government blamed the PKK for Wednesday's fatal landmine and gunfire attack on a military convoy in the southeastern province of Hakkari, which borders Iraq.
"We are now at the end of our patience," Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul, signaling a tougher stance against the PKK after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan ends on August 30.
According to the Turkish press, that could include sending special forces to the combat zone along the Iraqi border.
Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz hinted that Turkey's retaliation against the rebels could be strong. "They are testing our patience. We will retaliate in kind," he said in televised remarks.
Turkey's conflict with the PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States, has claimed more than 45,000 lives since it began in 1984.
Author: Gregg Benzow (dpa, AFP, Reuters)
Editor: Martin Kuebler