SIRNAK, TURKEY — Kurdish rebels ambushed a Turkish military convoy on Sunday less than 3 miles from the Iraqi border, killing 12 soldiers in the face of growing threats by Turkey to cross the rugged frontier and root out the guerrillas.
Turkey shelled the border region in response to the attack, and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani – a Kurd – ordered the rebels to lay down their arms or leave Iraq. Turkey dismissed his call, saying the time had come for action.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he told Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a phone conversation Sunday night that Turkey expected “speedy steps from the U.S.” in cracking down on Kurdish rebels, and that Rice expressed sympathy and asked “for a few days” from him.
Turkey’s Parliament authorized the government last week to deploy troops across the border, and the military confirmed that soldiers were chasing the rebels and pounding 63 suspected positions with artillery. Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek would not say whether some positions were on Iraqi soil.
“Whatever is necessary in this struggle is being done and will be done,” Cicek said.
The troops, backed by helicopter gunships, killed 32 rebels on Sunday, he said.
The rebel Kurdistan Workers Party, PKK, claimed later that its guerrillas had also captured a “number” of Turkish soldiers. Eight soldiers were missing according, to private NTV television.
The attack occurred just after midnight during a military offensive against rebels in Hakkari province, where the borders of Turkey, Iraq and Iran meet. According to CNN-Turk, the rebels blew up a bridge as a 12-vehicle military convoy was crossing. In a separate attack on Sunday, 17 people were injured when a bomb exploded as a minibus – part of a wedding convoy – passed nearby, authorities said.
Later Sunday, Iraq’s Talabani told Turkey’s private Kanal D television that the PKK could announce a cease-fire today. Turkey has rejected several unilateral rebel cease-fires in the past.
The Turkish government said it was time for action against the PKK.
“Statements do not satisfy us. There has been nothing left to say; we are expecting concrete steps from them,” Cicek said.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, meanwhile, arrived unexpectedly in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia – his third visit to an Arab country since parliament passed the motion – in an apparent effort to muster Arab support for any Turkish offensive.
Gates says Turkey unlikely to invade Iraq
KIEV, UKRAINE — U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday it appears Turkey’s military is not on the verge of invading northern Iraq in pursuit of Kurdish rebels responsible for a deadly attack on soldiers.
Gates told reporters that in a meeting with Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, he advised against launching a major cross-border incursion despite the continuing provocations.
“I’m heartened that he seems to be implying a reluctance on their part to act unilaterally, and I think that’s a good thing,” Gates said. “I didn’t have the impression that anything was imminent.”
The Associated Press
