.jpg)
News and comment by The Kurdistan Tribune:
Turkish troops and police have suffered big casualties in a series of attacks mounted by the PKK over the past 48 hours.
At least 26 soldiers were killed in a four-hour assault conducted in eight locations in the Yuksekova and Cukurca districts of Hakkari province, NTV news channel reported. In Batlis four policemen were killed in a bomb attack and in Adana four police were injured by a bomb concealed in garbage which exploded as they were trying to break up a Kurdish demonstration.
The attacks occurred as the Turkish president Abdulla Gul was inspecting Turkey’s border with Iraq/South Kurdistan. He has described them as a response to the destruction of a PKK camp in Syria and promised retribution. “Those who think they can shake our state with these attacks and get it in line will see that the revenge for these attacks will be much larger and exacted in multitudes”, he said.
However, following a conflict lasting three decades and costing thousands of lives on both sides, everyone knows that the PKK cannot be defeated militarily. These latest attacks could be an indication that the PKK is switching the focus of its operations from the Qandil border region to Turkey’s cities and towns.
