Turkish deputy PM vows to continue operations against PKK in N. Iraq

Turkish State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek said Saturday the military operations against the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), waged by Turkish armed forces to northern Iraq, would continue if needed, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

Recalling the 2007-dated motion adopted by the Turkish parliament authorizing the government to order the military forces to wage cross-border operations to hunt down PKK bases and camps, Cicek said such motion was still in force, adding that actions would be taken again if there was any necessity.

"With their limits and scope determined by Turkey's General Staff, these operations have continued up until now and our government has always been informed on the developments. If deemed necessary, operations will continue from now on as well," Cicek said.

"Turkey is determined to carry on with its fight against terrorism," Cicek noted.

The Turkish armed forces have warned that the PKK might intensify attacks over the summer when more PKK guerrillas arrive in Turkey from the mountainous areas in northern Iraq during warmer weather.

The PKK, labelled a terrorist group by the Turkish government, the United States and the European Union, took up arms in 1984 to create an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey. Some 40,000 people have been killed in the conflicts since.

Source: Xinhua