Report: US planning attack against PKK

Report: US planning attack against PKK
Wed, 01 Aug 2007 04:30:31
Source: Agencies
A PKK militant in northern Iraq
The Pentagon has confirmed that it is closely working with the Turkish government to stop Kurdish insurgents operating from bases in Iraq.

Officials refused to comment on a report that the US is planning a covert operation to send Special Forces into action to try to neutralize the leadership of the Kurdistan Workers party (PKK), which has been mounting attacks inside Turkey.

The US is trying to persuade the Turkish army not to launch an incursion into northern Iraq.

Eric Edelman, an undersecretary of defense and former ambassador to Turkey, told selected congressmen in private last week about the planned covert operation. The administration is required by law to inform Congress of any such operations. "US forces would behead the guerrilla organization by helping Turkey get rid of PKK leaders that they have targeted for years," he said.

The new reports come as PKK defectors have recently revealed that the US is arming the guerillas in northern Iraq.

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