Erdogan Vows Revenge Against Kurds in Iraq, Says He’ll Kill At Least 800

Suggests Turkish forces will move against Sinjar and Qandil

Speaking at a conference of the ruling AK Party in Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed revenge against the Kurdish PKK after a Wednesday attack that killed eight Turkish soldiers in southeastern Turkey.

Erdogan vowed to avenge the troops by “finishing” Kurdish forces in northern Iraq, saying Turkish forces will “go into their dens” in Sinjar and Qandil, Kurdish areas of Iraq where PKK-aligned fighters are accused of being.

Erdogan said that not only would he ensure that the fighters there would be finished, he promised that to make up for eight slain Turkish soldiers, at least 800 PKK militants in Iraq would be killed. It’s not clear how many PKK are even in Iraq after years of strikes.

Erdogan has been threatening to go into Iraq after the PKK for awhile, and suggested this may be coming soon with today’s comments. Iraq has repeatedly warned Turkey against incursions into their territory.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.