By Xinhua,
Ankara : Turkey’s parliament on Wednesday approved to extend the government’s mandate for striking the banned Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) in north Iraq.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Tuesday that the country would launch cross-border military operations against PKK’s bases in northern Iraq if necessary.
The anger of the Turkish people is mounting after last Friday’s deadliest attack that killed 15 Turkish soldiers in Hakkari province, while the Erdogan government and the powerful military have pledged to intensify a campaign to crush the outlawed PKK.
The PKK took up arms in 1984 with the aim of creating an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey. Some 40,000 people have been killed in the over-two-decade conflict.
Turkey has conducted frequent air raids on suspected positions of the PKK in northern Iraq. In February, it also launched an eight-day cross-border ground incursion against PKK rebels.