April 3, 2000
Ankara - Turkish warplanes struck Kurdish rebel bases in northern Iraq on Monday, as more than 1,000 troops penetrated further into the region in a new campaign to hunt down the guerrillas, a military official said. F-16 jets flew over the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir, taking off from a nearby base for the bombing campaign over northern Iraq, local reporters said.
A military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the troops penetrated some six miles into Iraq, but there were no serious clashes with the guerrillas so far. Cobra helicopter gunships were reported reinforcing the troops and armored units. Turkey regularly crosses into northern Iraq to chase rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party, which has been fighting for autonomy within Turkey for 15 years.
The military official said the operation was launched last week after intelligence sources pinpointed rebel camps along the rugged Iraqi-Turkish border. Iraq's northern regions are outside Baghdad's control, governed by two rival Iraqi Kurdish factions. One of the factions has been fighting the PKK alongside the Turkish army.
Kurdish rebels retreated into bases in northern Iraq before the winter after announcing a cease-fire and a withdrawal from Turkey. They later announced an end to armed struggle but the unilateral rebel cease-fire has been ignored by Turkey, which rules out any concessions to the rebels.
The latest incursion into Iraq came as European pressure increased on Turkey to find a peaceful settlement to the Kurdish conflict, which has claimed the lives of 37,000 people since 1984.
