By Xinhua
Ankara : Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek said on Sunday that operations to fight against the outlawed Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq would continue with a great determination when necessary.
“As the Turkish government, we are resolute to remove this trouble from the agenda of our country in full accordance with Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and other units of the state,” Cicek was quoted as saying by the semi-official Anatolia news agency.
Cicek said the TSK conducted a successful cross-border operation against PKK targets in the north of Iraq within the scope of the authorization given by the government.
“Target of these operations is only and solely separatist terrorist organization and its camps in the north of Iraq,” Cicek underlined.
“Our nation’s common sense and sound will for unity are the most important guarantees in this fight,” he said. Earlier in the day, a statement issued by the Turkish General Staff posted on its Web site said the Turkish warplanes bombed the PKK targets in northern Iraq.
It said the warplanes hit PKK targets in regions bordering the Turkish territories as well as in Qandil Mountain, which is further away from the frontier.
The Turkish warplanes bombed the PKK targets at 01:00 local time (GMT 2300 Saturday) and returned to their bases at 04:15 (GMT0215), said the statement.
The military operation was also backed by Turkish Land Forces’long-range weapons, it added.
“The operations will continue in line with the necessities of the military within the scope of the authorization given to the Turkish Armed Forces in fight against terrorist organization PKK,”the statement said.
The Turkish military has launched several cross-border attacks recently in a bid to fight separatist PKK rebels, who use northern Iraq as a launch pad for attacks against Turkey.
Security operations are underway in southeastern and eastern Turkey as 100,000 Turkish troops have massed along Turkish-Iraqi borders in preparations for a possible cross-border operation to crush about 3,000-strong PKK rebels.
The PKK, listed by the United States and Turkey as a terrorist group, took up arms against Turkey in 1984 with the aim of creating an ethnic homeland in the southeast. More than 30,000 people have been killed in the over-two-decade conflict.