DIYARBAKIR, Turkey – Turkish fighter planes and attack helicopters struck suspected Kurdish militant positions in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq late Wednesday in a major air-and-ground operation, security sources and witnesses said. The offensive, which involved at least 2,000 ground troops and 10 F-16 warplanes, underscores a growing cycle of violence in the mainly Kurdish southeast of the country – a development Turkish leaders have linked to the nearby conflict in Syria. “Around 2,000 soldiers are involved in the operation. Cobra helicopters ... are bombing targets on the Kato mountain," a security source told Reuters, referring to a location in southeastern Sirnak province, which borders Iraq and Syria. Up to 10 F-16 fighter jets had also been sent from a nearby base in Diyarbakir to support the operation, the source said. At least one soldier was killed and two wounded as the first clashes started with ground troops. There were no reports that Turkish ground troops had crossed the border, although Turkey has sent soldiers into the region in the past. Residents across the border in northern Iraq, from where the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) commands its operations against the Turkish state, said warplanes had also bombed the remote area of Dwele inside Iraq but there were no immediate reports of casualties. Turkey has stepped up air operations on suspected PKK rebels in northern Iraq over the past year after an increase in PKK attacks. The raids have fuelled tension between Ankara and the KRG. – Reuters
