Turkish forces push deeper into Kurdish northern Iraq

Hundreds of special forces commandos are said to be operating in the remote north-eastern Qandil mountains, where Iraq’s border intersects with both Turkey and Iran. Since mid-December, Turkey has conducted repeated air strikes on the area, bombing villages and vantage points where it claimed there was a PKK presence. The Iraqi Kurdish mayor of Deralouk told the Washington Post that more than 100 mountain villages had been abandoned because of the air war. The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, estimates that 1,255 people were displaced by Turkish bombing.

Turkish troops have reportedly crossed the border in the Zap region, on the western edges of the mountains, and engaged in bloody clashes with PKK fighters. Turkish air strikes and helicopter gunship assaults were carried out on Saturday near the town of Amadiyah. One Turkish helicopter was shot down.

The exact number of Turkish forces involved is the subject of conflicting reports. The Iraqi government in Baghdad has downplayed the incursion, claiming it is “very, very limited” and involves no more than 1,000 troops

Read More