Fifteen Turkish soldiers killed in clashes with PKK
By Ibon Villelabeitia
ANKARA (Reuters) - Fifteen Turkish soldiers were killed and 20 were wounded in clashes with Kurdish separatist PKK rebels in southeast Turkey on Friday, Turkish officials said, in one of the deadliest attacks on the military this year.
At least 23 members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were also killed after rebels based in northern Iraq fired heavy weapons at a military outpost in the Semdinli region bordering Iraq and Iran, the military said.
The attack is likely to put pressure on Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to strike back at the PKK. It also threatens to strain ties between Iraq and Turkey, which has accused Baghdad of not doing enough to crush PKK rebels.
NATO-member Turkey has attacked PKK bases in northern Iraq several times in the past 12 months but has confined itself to shelling and air strikes since a land offensive in February.
The General Staff said two Turkish soldiers were missing and that a rescue operation was under way. It said "most of our losses were caused by heavy weapon fire from the north of Iraq."
A Reuters correspondent on the Turkish side of the border saw Turkish attack helicopters and F-16 fighter jets flying over the area on Saturday. Special forces were being deployed.
Attacks by PKK rebels based in Iraq are a major irritant in relations between Ankara and Baghdad. Washington and the European Union are concerned that prolonged Turkish military operations inside Iraq could further destabilise Iraq.
Turkey's Foreign Ministry urged Baghdad to "take necessary precautions and prevent the repetition of such attacks."
Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh condemned the PKK attack but urged Ankara to act with "wisdom and self-restraint."
NATO, the EU and the U.S. embassy in Ankara condemned the PKK attack.
PM CHAIRS SECURITY MEETING
Erdogan cut short an official visit to Turkmenistan on Saturday to chair an emergency security meeting in Ankara.
Turkish military and civilian leaders pledged in the meeting to take strong actions against the PKK and said they had considered "all methods and precautions" to do so.
"The struggle against terrorism will continue with increased determination," a statement issued after the meeting said.
Parliament this month is likely to pass a government request to extend a mandate to launch military operations against the PKK in Iraq as needed. The current mandate expires on October 17.
Turkey blames the PKK, considered a terrorist organisation by the United States and the EU, for the deaths of more than 40,000 people since it launched its campaign for an ethnic Kurdish homeland in southeast Turkey in 1984.
Washington is sharing vital intelligence with Turkey on PKK movements in Iraq. The group has been weakened in recent years and the conflict has died down since its heyday in the 1990s.#
Friday's attack is the first serious challenge for Turkey's new military chief, General Ilker Basbug, who took over NATO's second-largest army in August.
Basbug has said that, while military operations against the PKK will continue, socio-economic measures are needed to bring peace to the impoverished southeast.
President Abdullah Gul hinted at a possible intelligence failure. The outpost has been attacked several times.
"We are closely investigating how this last heinous attack was made, who were the collaborators, and who facilitated this attack?" Gul said in a statement.
Erdogan has announced plans to invest up to $12 billion in southeast Turkey to improve living standards and drain support for the PKK.
The ruling AK Party hopes to wrest control of key cities in the southeast from a pro-Kurdish political party in municipal elections next March. Turkey is home to around 12 million Kurds, a sixth of the total population.
(Additional reporting by Aws Qusay in Baghdad; Editing by Dominic Evans)
And as for the onewho fears standing in front of His Lord and restrainsthe soul from impure evil desires and lusts, verily, Paradise will be his abode [79:40-41]
Re: Fifteen Turkish soldiers killed in clashes with PKK
format_quote Originally Posted by sevgi
I dont know why they just wont put an end to this.
I dont know either , it looks like its getting worser and worser..
And as for the onewho fears standing in front of His Lord and restrainsthe soul from impure evil desires and lusts, verily, Paradise will be his abode [79:40-41]
Re: Fifteen Turkish soldiers killed in clashes with PKK
format_quote Originally Posted by north_malaysian
are both Turkish government and PKK open for a dialogue?
i dont know much and would never pretend to know more than i do..
but from what i know, the Turkish govt has always been open to dialogue..but what the PKK want cannot be settled through dialogue. They have never been open to any cooperation..nor will they ever. they are a terrorist organisation...and will stop at nothing but getting what they want.
"'Cause I hear the whispered words
In your masterpiece beautiful
You speak the unspeakable through
I love you too"
Re: Fifteen Turkish soldiers killed in clashes with PKK
format_quote Originally Posted by sevgi
i dont know much and would never pretend to know more than i do..
but from what i know, the Turkish govt has always been open to dialogue..but what the PKK want cannot be settled through dialogue. They have never been open to any cooperation..nor will they ever. they are a terrorist organisation...and will stop at nothing but getting what they want.
In the last election, in some provinces the Kurds voted for AK party right? It seems that not all Kurds support PKK..
Re: Fifteen Turkish soldiers killed in clashes with PKK
format_quote Originally Posted by north_malaysian
In the last election, in some provinces the Kurds voted for AK party right? It seems that not all Kurds support PKK..
Most support PKK though. A slight majority of Turks are sick of the anti-Islamic policies of the state. The AK party has slowly been trying to end these policies, with stiff resistance from the army and judiciary. The people want and end to these policies, but the "secular" elite are vehemently against it.
I curse Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
I am against the PKK's war. Islam has no place for nationalism. However, anyone who fights against the Turkish government, peacefully or not, to end these anti-Islamic policies, I shall praise.
Re: Fifteen Turkish soldiers killed in clashes with PKK
format_quote Originally Posted by The Khan
Most support PKK though. A slight majority of Turks are sick of the anti-Islamic policies of the state. The AK party has slowly been trying to end these policies, with stiff resistance from the army and judiciary. The people want and end to these policies, but the "secular" elite are vehemently against it.
I curse Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
I am against the PKK's war. Islam has no place for nationalism. However, anyone who fights against the Turkish government, peacefully or not, to end these anti-Islamic policies, I shall praise.
well i said i "didnt know" but actually im not totally ignorant.
i just have to rebutt what i have understood as your take on the motives of the PKK.
the PKK are not attacking turkey coz of anti-islamic tendencies. they want land. they want what they believe is theirs. they are nationalist thugs with no nation..so to speak.
its the same with the armenians.
there is no point in cursing ataturk. he is a man in the past and Allah will deal with him. lets always remember that Allah uses everyone for a purpose and if Ataturk was meant to be a secularist *insertswearwordhere* then Allah obviously had plans.
peace.
"'Cause I hear the whispered words
In your masterpiece beautiful
You speak the unspeakable through
I love you too"
Re: Fifteen Turkish soldiers killed in clashes with PKK
^is this how you demand land ??
Edit: Im talking without Ilm!
InshaAllah this will stop one day...
Last edited by Güven; 10-20-2008 at 06:52 PM.
And as for the onewho fears standing in front of His Lord and restrainsthe soul from impure evil desires and lusts, verily, Paradise will be his abode [79:40-41]
Re: Fifteen Turkish soldiers killed in clashes with PKK
format_quote Originally Posted by AvarAllahNoor
Give them land! Like Castro, I support all those that seek their own homeland! KHALISTAN FOR SIKHS!
Throughout my life, I have never come across a Sikh who still demands an independent Khalistan. You're the first. Just curious, how many people do you know in average who still demand a separate Khalistan?
On the other hand, I've met many Hindus who want to nuke Pakistan for no reason.
Re: Fifteen Turkish soldiers killed in clashes with PKK
format_quote Originally Posted by yasin ibn Ahmad
Turkish gov dont have a dialogue with a terrorist group.Any gov dont do it.
Our government did it with Communists rebels (also terrorists as they bombed our national monument, trains etc) in the 80s. Since then there are no terrorism activities done by the Communists.
Re: Fifteen Turkish soldiers killed in clashes with PKK
format_quote Originally Posted by The Khan
Most support PKK though. A slight majority of Turks are sick of the anti-Islamic policies of the state. The AK party has slowly been trying to end these policies, with stiff resistance from the army and judiciary. The people want and end to these policies, but the "secular" elite are vehemently against it.
I curse Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
I am against the PKK's war. Islam has no place for nationalism. However, anyone who fights against the Turkish government, peacefully or not, to end these anti-Islamic policies, I shall praise.
You are writing without knowledge.PKK wants land to found a so-called kurdistan.They kill for kurdistan but they kill mostly kurds.What a dilemma!
If eu an usa hadnt funded Pkk,it had ended years and years ago.In the areas where kurds live,kurds pay no tax,no bill for electiricity,no bill for water etc etc...in addition to this they want land.
And ı expect an apologise from you for saying " ı shall praise ....""""..our ancestor praised,spreaded islam through europa,asia,afrca,they fought for islam and leaded islam for about 500 year.You cannot speak like this.
suppose that my country is anti-islamic then what does your country do for islam?
Re: Fifteen Turkish soldiers killed in clashes with PKK
That's exactly what I said. PKK is fighting for land, ie, nationalism. I don't support them. If there was an outfit in Turkey fighting to end the anti-Islamic policies, that outfit I would support.
I apologise as you misunderstood my post. I am very much against the PKK.
India has two major parties, the Congress and the BJP. The Congress are very pro-Muslim, and the BJP have killed thousands of Muslims to gain power. The Congress has done a lot for Muslims.
I just don't like the founder of your country's so called "secularism". I don't like the fact that your judiciary attempted to ban the AK party for lifting the anti-hijab university law. I don't like that fact that your military threatened to state a coup d' etat if the AK party continue to end these anti-Islamic policies.
Re: Fifteen Turkish soldiers killed in clashes with PKK
format_quote Originally Posted by yigiter187
suppose that my country is anti-Islamic then what does your country do for Islam?
if you read all his posts you'll find that his idea of an ideal Muslim country is Iran
what does your country do for Islam?
his country is so "good" for Islam that it tried to Destroy Pakistan a number of times and only stopped invading after Pakistan acquired nuclear technology. Now they have blocked and diverted waters that would have flowed in to Pakistani rivers in effort to turn it in to a desert land.
oh yes, they gave Muslims Gujarat and Kashmir too.
I curse Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
and I curse the lahnatullah Khomieni, so there!
if there was no Atatürk, there would be no Turkey, Arab traitors would have sold it in exchange for some Mayfair *****house
if it were not for Turks and pre-lahnatullah era Iranians, there would be NO Pakistan today either (your country/Congress Party and Afghans would have carved it up like they are trying now and seem to be succeeding)
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