 |
An armored Turkish army vehicle escorts military trucks near
the southeastern town of Silopi in an operation against Kurdish
militants, Oct. 20, 2011. (photo by REUTERS/Stringer)
|
By:
posted on
Wednesday, Aug 1, 2012
For the past five days, the Turkish army has been engaged in the
heaviest air and ground operations of recent years against the
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) around Semdinli in Hakkari province.
Summary:
In its largest air and
ground operations in several years, the Turkish military is fighting
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels near Semdinli, in Hakkari
province. Officials say the PKK planned an attack to coax the Turkish
military into shelling civilian areas. Two Turkish soldiers were killed;
PKK casualties total 100.
Publisher:
Milliyet (Turkey)
Original Title:
Thermal Camera Training Didn’t Help
Author:
Published on:
Wednesday, Aug 1, 2012
Translated On:
Wednesday, Aug 1, 2012
Translator:
Timur Goksel
|
Although Turkish civilian and military authorities have been keeping
quiet about the operation and have been criticized for keeping the
public in the dark, it is understood that the PKK planned to seize
Semdinli to trigger a wide-scale uprising in the area. This time, the
PKK changed its classic
modus operandi of hit-and-run guerrilla
operations to capture and hold territory by infiltrating Semdinli in
large numbers, attacking security forces and hoisting its flag over
public buildings with the idea of lighting the fuse for a
Syria-like uprising.
The PKK has been training hundreds of militants on how to evade thermal
cameras while infiltrating an urban area. The eight-month-long training
took place in its Shehidan camp inside Iranian territory.
The PKK plan was exposed when two militants escaped from training and
surrendered to Turkish authorities. They said a repetition of the failed
Semdinli operation of last year was planned. At the training camp they
were told that there was to be no retreat, only a fight to the end until
the mission was accomplished.
Read More....................
Turkey