Kurdish guerrillas killed 17 Turkish soldiers in an ambush yesterday, which resulted in crisis talks in Ankara to weigh a military strike against rebel bases in Iraq.
If my memory is right, this attack is the worst in more than a decade by rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The pivotal factor here is that this attack has came four days after Turkey’s parliament overwhelmingly approved a motion to allow troops to enter northern Iraq to fight guerrillas hiding there. In my opinion, United States should take drastic measures against the PKK.
On the other hand, Abdul Rahman al-Chaderchi, a PKK spokesman, said Kurdish fighters did the attack because Turkish troops were implementing war games near the border.
President George W. Bush has expectedly condemned the attacks and said that there is no place for these attacks in today’s world and it should be stopped immediately. But Mr. Bush this will only happen if the United States, Turkey and Iraq will continue to stand together to defeat the PKK terrorists.
