Thaindian News

ANKARA, TURKEY (BNO NEWS) — The government of Turkey on Thursday launched a military operation against Kurdish rebels in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq, officials said on Friday.

The announcement comes after clashes broke out simultaneously Wednesday in three different areas between suspected members of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and security forces in Turkey’s Hakkari province. Officials with the country’s prime minister later confirmed that a total of 24 soldiers had been killed while 18 others have been injured.

In a counterattack, Turkey deployed around 1,000 soldiers into northern Iraq where security officials said they had killed 21 suspected PKK members. According to the Turkish military, operations were launched in five different regions in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq, the World Bulletin website reported.

Turkish officials have expressed anger and pledged to avenge the PKK attacks as speculations indicate that its military operations could be as large as in 2008 when some 10,000 Turkish troops swept into northern Iraq. As ground forces carry out operations, cobra helicopter gunships have also been deployed for support.

Following Wednesday’s PKK attacks, which have been the deadliest in recent years, crowds of angry people mounted protests in several cities including Istanbul and the country’s capital of Ankara, reportedly chanting anti-PKK slogans.

Wednesday’s fighting also came just one day after after a roadside bomb attack in the Güroymak district of Bitlis province killed at least eight people, including five policemen and three civilians. Among the victims was a 2-year-old girl.

Previous reports said Turkish intelligence officers had recently intercepted radio communications between militants which revealed that PKK senior member Erdal of Syria ordered increased attacks against Turkish security forces after the destruction of a PKK camp.

Last week, a PKK camp located in Kavaklı, located some 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the provincial center of Turkey’s southeastern Hakkari province, was destroyed by Turkish military forces. The camp was a key base for the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK), the organization controlling the PKK and affiliated groups, both logistically and strategically.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called on Turkish Kurds to fight off the PKK, which has increased its attacks in the past few months. Throughout the year, Turkey has carried out air strikes against suspected PKK targets in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish area and in southeastern Turkey.

Suspected PKK rebels have killed at least 65 Turkish soldiers since July. Eight Turkish soldiers and a village guard were killed on August 17 when a roadside bomb and an ambush targeted a military convoy in Turkey’s southeastern province of Hakkari near the Iraqi border. Among the fatalities was a military officer who was in command of the troops.

The PKK, which has been labeled as a terrorist organizations by the United States, Turkey and the European Union, was established in 1984 in its efforts to establish the eastern and southeastern regions of Turkey as an autonomous Kurdish state. Over 40,000 soldiers and civilians have been killed in violent clashes since the group took arms. The PKK maintains its military bases across the Iraqi border.