By Theodore Shoebat
Turkish forces killed eight Kurdish militants in Iraq. Erdogan is claiming that Turkish troops are in Iraq to destroy “terror”. While the Kurdish insurgents are indeed terrorists and are not good people, Turkey is simply using the presence of groups like the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) and the YPG (People’s Protection Units) as a pretext for military expansionism into Iraq and Syria. As we read in one report from Hurriyet Daily News:
At least 8 militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) were “neutralized” during airstrikes in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq, the army said on July 7.
Turkish authorities often use the word “neutralized” in their statements to imply the militants in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.
On Twitter, the Turkish General Staff said fighter jets had conducted airstrikes between July 6 and July 7 in northern Iraq’s Sinat-Haftanin regions as well as in Ömerli district of southeastern Mardin province, Turkey, which is near the Syria and Iraq border.
The PKK was listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU.