10,000 crack Turkish troops chase rebels in Iraq
Source: Agencies |
October 21, 2011, Friday
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Print Edition
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ABOUT 10,000 elite Turkish soldiers were taking part in a ground offensive against Kurdish rebels in southeastern Turkey and across the border in Iraq yesterday, the nation's largest attack on insurgents in more than three years, the military said.
The offensive began on Wednesday after Kurdish rebels carried out raids near the Turkish-Iraqi border that killed 24 Turkish soldiers and wounded 18, the insurgents' deadliest one-day attacks against the military since the mid-1990s.
The military said in a statement yesterday that 22 battalions were taking part in the offensive. Reports said most of the troops were believed to be in Iraq.
It is Turkey's largest such offensive since February 2008, when thousands of ground forces staged a weeklong offensive in Iraq.
The military said soldiers in the current operation are commandos, special forces and paramilitary special forces, an elite force trained in guerrilla warfare.
They are being reinforced by F-16 and F-4 warplanes, Super Cobra helicopter gunships and surveillance drones.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: "Our goal is to achieve results. The military is determinedly carrying out this (operation), both from the air and the ground."
The military said the offensive was launched because the rebels had staged simultaneous attacks on eight separate targets, including military and police outposts.
Iraq's government yesterday condemned the rebel attacks and promised to stop insurgents using Iraqi territory for future attacks against Turkey.
The offensive began on Wednesday after Kurdish rebels carried out raids near the Turkish-Iraqi border that killed 24 Turkish soldiers and wounded 18, the insurgents' deadliest one-day attacks against the military since the mid-1990s.
The military said in a statement yesterday that 22 battalions were taking part in the offensive. Reports said most of the troops were believed to be in Iraq.
It is Turkey's largest such offensive since February 2008, when thousands of ground forces staged a weeklong offensive in Iraq.
The military said soldiers in the current operation are commandos, special forces and paramilitary special forces, an elite force trained in guerrilla warfare.
They are being reinforced by F-16 and F-4 warplanes, Super Cobra helicopter gunships and surveillance drones.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: "Our goal is to achieve results. The military is determinedly carrying out this (operation), both from the air and the ground."
The military said the offensive was launched because the rebels had staged simultaneous attacks on eight separate targets, including military and police outposts.
Iraq's government yesterday condemned the rebel attacks and promised to stop insurgents using Iraqi territory for future attacks against Turkey.
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