Kurdish Commander Threatens Attacks

A Kurdish rebel commander has accused Turkey of occupying a buffer zone in northern Iraq and threatened attacks if Turkey does not withdraw.

“Suicide attacks will be carried out inside Turkey,” Semdin Sakik, a senior guerrilla commander, said on Kurdish television.

He spoke with London-based MED TV on Friday; the text of the interview was made available to The Associated Press on Saturday.

Suicide bombings by Turkish Kurds have claimed 10 lives in Turkey in the past two years.

Turkey sent an estimated 25,000-50,000 troops into northern Iraq on May 14 in a bid to wipe out rebel bases used for cross-border attacks.