The killing on Sunday of over a dozen Turkish soldiers by Turkish Kurdish rebels has increased pressure on the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan to order a major incursion by Turkey’s armed forces into the Kurdish region of northern Iraq.

The soldiers died when guerrillas from the Marxist Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) blew up a bridge as a military convoy was crossing the structure early on Sunday morning. Many  other Turkish troops were injured. The Turkish armed forces responded by shelling Kurdish villages on the Iraqi side of the border and by killing 23 Kurdish fighters in a counter-offensive, allegedly within Turkey itself.

“Our anger, our hatred is great,” Erdogan stated. He said the government would adopt “an approach that is calm, far from agitated, and based on common sense.”

Major offensive
But it is not clear whether he can restrain the generals, who are determined to stage a major offensive against the PKK.

Their aim is to use this operation to strengthen their hand against the moderate Muslim fundamentalist government, as well as demonstrate to the public that the military will not tolerate cross-border PPK attacks.
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, said that Iraq would not capitulate to a Turkish demand to hand over PKK rebels to Ankara.

“The Marxist Kurdish Workers’ Party’s leaders are in Kurdistan’s rugged mountains.

The Turkish military, with all its might, cannot annihilate them or arrest them, so how could we arrest them and hand them to Turkey?” he asked.

“Handing over Kurdish leaders is a dream which will not come true,” he said.
The President of the Kurdish autonomous region of Iraq, Massoud Barzani, said that the Iraqi Kurds would defend their territory if the Turkish military crossed the border.

Debate
The violence in the Kurdish north coincided with debate in the Iraqi national assembly of the authorisation last week by the Turkish parliament of incursions by the Turkish military into northern Iraq to pursue Turkish Kurdish militants who have taken refuge there.

Legislative measure
Talabani has condemned the Turkish legislative measure while Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a Shia Arab, has warned that Turkish military intervention could destabilise the only region of the country which remains relatively peaceful.

The soldiers died when guerrillas from the Marxist Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) blew up a bridge as a military convoy was crossing the structure early on Sunday morning. Many  other Turkish troops were injured. The Turkish armed forces responded by shelling Kurdish villages on the Iraqi side of the border and by killing 23 Kurdish fighters in a counter-offensive, allegedly within Turkey itself.

“Our anger, our hatred is great,” Erdogan stated. He said the government would adopt “an approach that is calm, far from agitated, and based on common sense.”

Major offensive
But it is not clear whether he can restrain the generals, who are determined to stage a major offensive against the PKK.
Their aim is to use this operation to strengthen their hand against the moderate Muslim fundamentalist government, as well as demonstrate to the public that the military will not tolerate cross-border PPK attacks.
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, said that Iraq would not capitulate to a Turkish demand to hand over PKK rebels to Ankara.

“The Marxist Kurdish Workers’ Party’s leaders are in Kurdistan’s rugged mountains.
The Turkish military, with all its might, cannot annihilate them or arrest them, so how could we arrest them and hand them to Turkey?” he asked.

“Handing over Kurdish leaders is a dream which will not come true,” he said.
The President of the Kurdish autonomous region of Iraq, Massoud Barzani, said that the Iraqi Kurds would defend their territory if the Turkish military crossed the border.

Debate
The violence in the Kurdish north coincided with debate in the Iraqi national assembly of the authorisation last week by the Turkish parliament of incursions by the Turkish military into northern Iraq to pursue Turkish Kurdish militants who have taken refuge there.

Legislative measure
Talabani has condemned the Turkish legislative measure while Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a Shia Arab, has warned that Turkish military intervention could destabilise the only region of the country which remains relatively peaceful.

Washington, which does not have enough troops in Iraq to oust PKK elements from northern Iraq, has called for restraint.

Washington, which does not have enough troops in Iraq to oust PKK elements from northern Iraq, has called for restraint.