Oy
Geeze, who woulda thunk it?
Another Middle East war erupts Wednesday as 50,000 Turkish troops launch operation against
Kurdish PKK bases, several thousand crossing into N. IraqJune 6, 2007, 9:25 PM (GMT+02:00)
The official Turkish news agency Cihan reports the force, backed by armored vehicles and combat
aircraft, is targeting rebel strongholds in 11 provinces in southeastern Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan
Wednesday, June 6.
White House officials speaking from the G8 summit in Germany said there was “no new activity”
from Turkish troops in northern Iraq. Military HQ in Ankara declined to confirm or deny that Turkish
troops had entered Iraq.
DEBKAfile’s military sources report that this is only the first wave of Turkish invaders, with more to
come. A Turkish force of 90,000 troops has been massed at the sourthern town of Sirank opposite
the meeting point of the Turkish, Iraqi and Syrian borders, drawing a warning to Ankara from US
defense secretary Robert Gates to stay out of Iraq.
June 2, DEBKAfile reported that the US had removed troops from northern Iraq and passed
responsibility for the region’s security to the Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga.
Two days ago, Kurdish PKK rebels killed at least 8 soldiers, wounding 6, in a suicide attack on an E.
Turkish checkpoint at Tunceli.
After the attack, Turkish foreign minister Abdullah Gulf defended his country’s right to drive into
neighboring Iraq to destroy rebel bases.
Up to 3,500 separatists are believed based in northern Iraq poised for hit-and-run terrorist attacks
in Turkey. The Turkish news agency reports three F-16 Falcon fighter bombers have carried out
bombing raids on positions of the PKK Kurdistan Workers Party in northern Iraq. Artillery deployed
at the border with Iraq has fired at pinpointed targets.”
DEBKAfile’s Iraq sources reported last week that Iraqi Kurdistan’s president, Massoud Barzani, had
sent a personal emissary, Safin Dizai, to Ankara with an urgent warning. Turkish tanks would not be
allowed to cross into northern Iraq, he said. The Kurdish peshmerga would repel them. “The people
of Kurdistan,“ said the messenger, “would not stand by as spectators if Turkish tanks and panzers
entered Kirkuk.”
B
Baerwald
(view)
Geeze, who woulda thunk it?
Another Middle East war erupts Wednesday as 50,000 Turkish troops launch operation against
Kurdish PKK bases, several thousand crossing into N. IraqJune 6, 2007, 9:25 PM (GMT+02:00)
The official Turkish news agency Cihan reports the force, backed by armored vehicles and combat
aircraft, is targeting rebel strongholds in 11 provinces in southeastern Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan
Wednesday, June 6.
White House officials speaking from the G8 summit in Germany said there was “no new activity”
from Turkish troops in northern Iraq. Military HQ in Ankara declined to confirm or deny that Turkish
troops had entered Iraq.
DEBKAfile’s military sources report that this is only the first wave of Turkish invaders, with more to
come. A Turkish force of 90,000 troops has been massed at the sourthern town of Sirank opposite
the meeting point of the Turkish, Iraqi and Syrian borders, drawing a warning to Ankara from US
defense secretary Robert Gates to stay out of Iraq.
June 2, DEBKAfile reported that the US had removed troops from northern Iraq and passed
responsibility for the region’s security to the Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga.
Two days ago, Kurdish PKK rebels killed at least 8 soldiers, wounding 6, in a suicide attack on an E.
Turkish checkpoint at Tunceli.
After the attack, Turkish foreign minister Abdullah Gulf defended his country’s right to drive into
neighboring Iraq to destroy rebel bases.
Up to 3,500 separatists are believed based in northern Iraq poised for hit-and-run terrorist attacks
in Turkey. The Turkish news agency reports three F-16 Falcon fighter bombers have carried out
bombing raids on positions of the PKK Kurdistan Workers Party in northern Iraq. Artillery deployed
at the border with Iraq has fired at pinpointed targets.”
DEBKAfile’s Iraq sources reported last week that Iraqi Kurdistan’s president, Massoud Barzani, had
sent a personal emissary, Safin Dizai, to Ankara with an urgent warning. Turkish tanks would not be
allowed to cross into northern Iraq, he said. The Kurdish peshmerga would repel them. “The people
of Kurdistan,“ said the messenger, “would not stand by as spectators if Turkish tanks and panzers
entered Kirkuk.”
