Turkey ‘shifts from defensive to offensive policy’ against terror

ANKARA

Turkey has shifted its anti-terror policy from defensive to offensive inside and outside the country, a senior government official has said, vowing that anything could happen in regards to the Turkish army’s ongoing operation in northern Iraq.

“We are pursuing an offensive policy rather than defensive. Military operations in northern Iraq are ongoing. These are handled in accordance with international law. This operation will continue as planned. Anything could happen at any time in that region,” deputy Prime Minister and government spokesman Bekir Bozdağ told state-run Anadolu Agency in an interview on June 11.

Bozdağ said Turkey’s military operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) would not be affected by the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections.

Turkey had launched a massive military campaign in northern Iraq where the PKK has had its main headquarters and training camps in the Kandil Mountains since the early 1990s. Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım had revealed the Turkish army set up 11 regional bases in northern Iraq in a bid to intensify anti-terror operations.

Government officials hint the army will soon target the Kandil Mountains to eliminate PKK terrorists.