Kurdistan - Gathering Storm

0 "Turkey has sent nearly 40,000 troops to the southeast to prepare for an expected rise in Kurdish rebel incursions from northern Iraq, a senior military official said on April 20. [snip] Turkey already has some 220,000 to 250,000 troops in the southeast." 1 "Concerning the separatist terror organization, the Iraqi minister commented, “First of all, they are non-Iraqis. Second, this is not the place for them to operate or to lobby whatsoever. Third, there was a joint message delivered to them from Barzani and Talabani, asking the PKK to stop fighting...[W]e believe that these measures will convince everybody that we are in business." 2, "The fight should continue in secrecy. Even if there is a plan, we would not share it with other parties," Foreign Ministry spokesman Namik Tan told a press conference on Wednesday.[snip]Some 3500-4000 PKK terrorists are believed to be based in northern Iraq. 3, "Turkish Foreign Ministry officials yesterday denied media reports that high-level officials from the Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) will have talks in Ankara this week to discuss ways to combat the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). 4 PKK attacks police lodgings in Turkey; 7 injured The New Anatolian with wires / Ankara 01 August 2006 Terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants opened fire on and hurled hand grenades at police lodgings in eastern Turkey late Sunday, injuring six police officers and a passer-by. The officers were standing guard outside the lodgings in the town of Dogubayazit in the province of Agri when they were attacked, an official at the local governor's office said. The assailants escaped and police set up checkpoints on roads around Dogubayazit to apprehend them. The PKK's bloody campaign has led to more than 37,000 deaths in Turkey since 1984, when the PKK first took up arms. There's been escalating tension between Turkey and the PKK, and the deaths of 15 soldiers in three separate attacks this month have prompted Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to disclose that the military is considering a cross-border operation aimed at eradicating PKK bases in northern Iraq. The U.S. is strongly opposed to such an operation. Did I remember to mention that the Iranians and the Turks are coordinating their operations against the Pesh and that the Iranian ambassador to Turkey has said that there was no problem about Turkish troops crossing in to Iran for operations against the pesh. I'm sure I have mentioned this but just in case. "The Iranians and the Turks are coordinating their operations against the Pesh, the Iranian ambassador to Turkey has said that there is no problem about Turkish troops crossing in to Iran for operations against the pesh." markfromireland