Officials said about 1,000 Turkish Army commandos, backed by AH-1Z
attack helicopters as well as F-16 and F-4 combat jets, reached Iraq's
Kandil mountains. They said the commandos were part of a force of 22 army
battalions sent to drive out the PKK presence of an estimated 2,000 fighters
in northern Iraq.
About 100 Kurdish fighters, armed with rocket-propelled grenades and
mortars, were said to have struck police and military bases in Turkey's
Hakari province.
The PKK also used roadside bombs to ambush police patrols in the border
area. On Oct. 20, the Turkish daily Radikal reported that Syrian Kurdish
commander Fehman Hussein led the latest attacks.
Security sources said the PKK has become more effective in operations in
2011. They said the rebels appeared to have obtained superior equipment and
training from elements within the security forces of the autonomous Kurdish
Regional Government.
"No one should forget that those who make us suffer this pain will be
made to suffer even stronger," Turkish President Abdullah Gul said. "They
will see that the vengeance for these attacks will be immense."
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