Turkey launched its first attacks against PKK targets in Iraq late last month, ending two years of ceasefire, and launching a new round of fighting which has seen both sides escalating precipitously.
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More than 50 police and soldiers have been martyred in attacks attributed to the PKK while Turkish operations, inside and outside the country, have killed more than 770 alleged PKK members.
The controversy with the BBC comes amid growing concern for freedom of the press in Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, where journalists are especially targeted by legal proceedings for insult accusations against the government.
According to the broadcaster, Australia has already joined the offensive against targets in Iraq, but so far has refrained from participating in the US-led worldwide coalition’s airstrikes in Syria.
The Turkish General Command said in a statement that an explosive device detonated at an army envoy that was heading from Siirt to Barwari, killing at least eight soldiers. It wasn’t immediate disclosed if the troops were in vehicles or on foot.
Carter said Turkey had agreed in principle to participate in the coalition bombing campaign against the militants, but the United States also needed Ankara to step up its efforts to control its long border with Iraq and Syria. “But it’s complicated not just only in Iraq… but in Syria as well”. “They are more symbolic than crippling”, said Cagaptay. “You will make the choice. They will not only lay down arms, but also bury them under concrete”.
The BBC wrote in the story that: “The PKK is considered a terrorist organization by the Turkish authorities and several Western states, but it is now a key player in the battle against the jihadist group Islamic State“.
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Another 260 were killed in ground operations in southeastern Turkey, Anatolia said, quoting what it said were sources in military intelligence.
