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Retaliatory Turkish Airstrikes Target Kurdish Rebels in Iraq
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The government has tried to show itself to be as determined as the military in combating the rebels.
Although violence in Turkey's war with the Kurdish rebels has eased since the 1980s and 1990s, when fighting and bombings killed more than 40,000, Turkey has suffered more troop fatalities in PKK attacks this year than the U.S. military has in violence in neighboring Iraq.
The attack Friday was the deadliest single strike by rebels against Turkey's military this year.
Turkey said the fighting killed at least 23 Kurdish rebels.
Turkey's anger poses a diplomatic problem for Iraq's coalition government, which depends on Iraq's Kurds for support. Iraqi Kurds operate a largely autonomous government in northern Iraq, and Kurds there have shown no appetite for taking on fellow Kurds at Turkey's behest.
In a phone call to Gul on Saturday, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani -- who is a Kurd -- condemned the rebel attack.
Turkey's government has promised development programs in the Kurdish southeast to try to address the complaints behind the rebellion. But Erdogan's administration has had trouble delivering on such promises to the Kurds, including allowing more public use of the Kurdish language, because of sporadic fighting and political troubles.
