Turkish Warplanes Attack the Kurdish Separatist Stronghold

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, under pressure to ensure stability two weeks after replacing the military’s high command, warned that Turkey’s “patience” was exhausted and ordered airstrikes against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party after the group killed nine soldiers and militiamen. The attack by the PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union, was the deadliest since July 14, when 13 soldiers were killed in an ambush that coincided with a Kurdish declaration of autonomy. Within hours of yesterday’s attack, Turkish warplanes crossed the border into Iraq and struck 60 PKK targets, the military said on its website. It also warned of “similar actions” until the “separatist terrorist organization is rendered ineffective.”

The Turkish General Staff said in a statement released early on Thursday that “a successful offensive was carried out against 60 targets of the separatist terrorist organization in the Kandil Mountains and in the Hakurk, Avaşin-Basyan, Zap and Metina regions by Turkish Air Forces warplanes.”

The statement also said 168 targets in the Zap, Avaşin-Basyan and Hakurk regions were hit by heavy artillery fire prior to the air operation. “During the operation carried out, only separatist terrorist organization sites were targeted, and necessary attention was paid to prevent any harm to civilian people.” “Similar activities by the Turkish Armed Forces [TSK] in and outside the country will continue until northern Iraq is turned into a safe living zone, and the terrorist organization, which uses this region as a base to attack Turkey, is rendered ineffective,” the statement added.

Some 15 warplanes, including F-16s, took off from a Turkish base in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır to strike at bases from where the PKK launch attacks on Turkish targets.

During my tenure at the Washington Institute in 2008, I had prepared the following maps showing the main PKK positions in Northern Iraq (numbers indicate relative and approximate manpower in these bases, based on Turkish military estimates in late-2007)

http://washingtoninstitute.org/mapImages/471f964e18a6f.jpg

These bases act as forward operating bases to most PKK attacks into Turkey, yet they are of secondary importance for the Turkish military.

http://washingtoninstitute.org/mapImages/471f95d2b5745.jpg

The most important PKK bases are scattered around the massive Mount Kandil (or Qandil) which lies across the Iraqi-Iranian border. Kandil is considered as the heart of the PKK and is defined as the primary target by the Turkish military. Much of the airstrikes being conducted by the Turkish Air forces is concentrated around this area.

The map below belongs to the New York Times and is based on a briefing I had made to NYT reporters with Dr. Soner Cagaptay:

https://foreignpolicyblogs.com/wp-content/uploads/1029-web-KURDS.jpg

Due to the extremely rugged terrain, the PKK holds a massive defensive advantage against Turkish ground troops. Mountain passes are easy to hide and defend and very difficult to attack and deploy ground troops in defensive posture. Therefore the Turkish military is currently relying on, and will continue to rely mainly on its air power to scatter main PKK concentrations. However as the PKK is used to Turkish air attacks, it has developed a tactical fluidity and does not maintain permanent bases. Therefore, current Turkish air attacks will probably not inflict a long-term damage to the PKK, but are intended to satisfy the public opinion furious with the recent PKK attacks against Turkish soldiers.