Turkish army encircles 100 Kurdish rebels

Source: Channel NewsAsia

ANKARA : Turkish forces have encircled 100 Kurdish rebels in a mountainous area near the border with Iraq, the Anatolia news agency reported on Monday.

Turkish army units had blocked off routes used by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels to return to their bases in northern Iraq after carrying out attacks in Turkey, the report said.

The operation in the Yuksekova region of southeastern Turkey came a day after the Turkish army killed 15 PKK rebels and as Ankara geared up for crucial talks with the United States to tackle the crisis over the bases in Iraq.

The militants were killed in a large-scale operation in the mountainous eastern province of Tunceli as some 8,000 troops, backed by helicopter gunships, assaulted rebel positions.

Read more: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/308425/1/.html

Al Jazeera English I saw a debate on this, and both sides agreed that the PKK is a militant group engaged in terrorist-type activities. Another quagmire.

the meeting, apparently impromtu, that Turkey will have with "W" a week from today.

Maybe. If they wait that long.

Starting Thursday last week and heating up over the weekend Turkey was turning to fighter bombers and helicopter gunships in the N of Iraq. There has been no general engagement yet - just fragmented attacks. Hopefully it stays that way.

You better give them someting in this negotiation B*sh - so far you have been consistantly "a day late and a dollar short", so to speak. Don't screw this one up, Mr President. God, I wish somebody else - anybody else, was president right now.

Joe

I know it - I am actually grateful for it.

I don't think the United States would show the same kind of restraint Turkey did.

Frankly I am impressed that they have tried to come up with a solution - cause they know goddamn well B*sh isn't going to give them anything they can live with - but they try. And we get another week.

Joe