Home / International / Opinion Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read | Comment
Turkey's cross-border ground incursion against PKK comes earlier than planned
Adjust font size:

The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) launched cross-border ground operations against the banned Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) targets in northern Iraq late on Thursday, earlier than the original plan in March to stifle the weakened group, local analysts said on Saturday.

The Turkish military General Staff announced in a statement on Friday that the TSK launched a cross-border ground operation into north of Iraq as of 7 P.M. (1700 GMT) on Thursday following successful artillery bombardment, which was backed by air forces jets.

With the support of the United States, the cross-border ground operations came earlier than planned, mainly to catch the PKK by surprise and stifle the weakened group before they have any chance to recover, said a Turkish military analyst.

According to earlier estimates, the TSK was planning to launch the ground offensive in late March, waiting for the snow in the region to melt, which had made it extremely difficult for military vehicles and personnel to move along the mountainous Iraqi border.

Turkish air raids started on December 16 last year with the support of US real-time intelligence and have had a serious psychological impact on the PKK by disrupting its communications and other infrastructure.

Reliable Turkish sources told Xinhua that six Turkish air raids since December 16 had seriously hit PKK camps and positions in northern Iraq and the TSK launched the ground operations to wipe out groups of the PKK rebels who escaped from their camps following the Turkish air raids.

1   2   3    


Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read
Comment
Pet Name
Anonymous
China Archives
Related >>
Most Viewed >>
- All 46 die in airplane crash in Venezuela
- IAEA report shows Iran's nuclear program peaceful: Jalili
- US B-2 bomber crashes in Guam
- Cuba ready for election of national leaders
- Britons reject Olympic boycott
- Rice to visit China
- China to send peacekeepers to Kosovo
- Terms reiterated for Vatican ties
- Turkey attacks PKK bases in Iraq
- Europe needs more women in top positions
> Korean Nuclear Talks
> Reconstruction of Iraq
> Middle East Peace Process
> Iran Nuclear Issue
> 6th SCO Summit Meeting
Links
- China Development Gateway
- Foreign Ministry
- Network of East Asian Think-Tanks
- China-EU Association
- China-Africa Business Council
- China Foreign Affairs University
- University of International Relations
- Institute of World Economics & Politics
- Institute of Russian, East European & Central Asian Studies
- Institute of West Asian & African Studies
- Institute of Latin American Studies
- Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies
- Institute of Japanese Studies