By RIA Novosti
Cairo : The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) is ready for dialogue with Turkey, but its fighters do not intend to lay down their arms, a PKK spokesman said Wednesday.
He said the PKK has been observing a two-year old armistice, but as the Turkish army continues to attack, PKK fighters have no choice but to defend themselves.
Turkish army units earlier crossed the Iraqi border in a special operation against Kurdish militants, local newspapers in Turkey said Wednesday.
The Yeni Safak newspaper reported that Turkish commandos supported by helicopters were chasing PKK militants, and F-16 Falcon fighter-bombers and artillery were delivering pinpoint strikes on militant bases about 50 km deep into Iraqi territory.
Zaman, Turkey’s third largest newspaper, said the Turkish Armed Forces had stepped up their bombardment of the Iraqi border as part of an operation launched in retaliation for Sunday’s terrorist attack that killed 12 soldiers and wounded 16 others.
The newspaper cited a government spokesman as saying that the US had been informed about the start of the cross-border operation, although Turkey’s military has not confirmed the media reports.
The Turkish parliament sanctioned last week military cross-border operations against the PKK, based in north Iraq, following an earlier government request. The PKK says it is currently holding several Turkish soldiers hostage.
Turkey’s military said Monday that eight military personnel were missing following clashes with Kurdish fighters on the Iraqi border. Last Sunday, 34 Kurds and at least 12 Turkish servicemen were killed in Kurdish militants’ ambush.
Turkey’s National Security Council was scheduled to meet Wednesday to discuss further action against the PKK, as well as the reaction of the US and neighbouring countries to the incursion into northern Iraq.
The PKK, listed by the US, NATO and the European Union as a terrorist organization, has been fighting for autonomy status in southeast Turkey for nearly 25 years. The conflict has so far claimed about 40,000 lives.