Kurds Dodging Turkish Attack
Turkish troops who poured into Iraq eight days ago, hoping to crush Kurdish rebel bases in their biggest military mission of modern times, say many guerrillas have given them the slip and headed for the hills.
Turkey poured 35,000 soldiers into northern Iraq on March 20 in a land-and-air operation that targeted an estimated 2,500 rebels from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighting for a homeland in southeast Turkey.
“Many PKK fled toward the border which is impossible for us to control completely,” a Turkish officer said Monday. “Look at them, they are huge,” he said, pointing to rugged peaks of about 10,000 feet straddling the border.
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