Turkey targets Kurds in Iraq

Turkey launched land and air assaults into neighboring Iraq on Wednesday after Kurdish militants killed at least 24 soldiers and injured 18 in the latest in a series of deadly strikes near the border, authorities said.

The Turkish offensive across the Iraqi border included helicopter gunships, ground commandos and fighter jets, authorities said.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan canceled a foreign trip and labeled the operation a legal “hot pursuit” of terrorists operating out of Iraq’s Kurdish region. The overnight attacks were blamed on the PKK, or Kurdistan Workers Party, which has long used mountain bases in rugged northern Iraq to stage guerrilla-style attacks into Turkey, Erdogan said.

The PKK, which seeks what it calls equal rights for Turkey’s Kurdish minority, and Ankara have been locked in a decades-long struggle that has left tens of thousands dead and has recently heated up anew. Public anger in Turkey about the escalating violence has been mounting, putting pressure on Erdogan and other leaders for a robust response.

“Those who think they can subjugate us through such heinous assaults are bound to realize that we will take our revenge,” declared Turkish President Abdullah Gul. “These terrorist acts will be reciprocated.”

In recent months, Turkish authorities say, PKK militants have killed dozens of security personnel and civilians inside Turkey’s embattled Kurdish heartland. Turkey has already launched a security crackdown, but Erdogan has been hinting that Ankara would strike back even harder.

The offensive Wednesday was believed to be Turkey’s largest cross-border ground operation into Iraqi territory since a 2008 onslaught against the PKK.

It remained unclear how far Turkish troops planned to advance inside Iraq, and how long forces would remain. Reuters cited sources saying some 500 Turkish troops had moved up to five miles into Iraq territory.

Turkey and its allies, including Washington, have labeled the PKK a terrorist group.