Turkey takes on Kurds in evolving Qandil operation
Although Ankara seems determined to reach the PKK stronghold of Qandil in Iraq, it faces many obstacles to sustaining such an operation against Kurdish militants in the punishing mountain region.
Despite growing tension over the June 24 elections, Turkey’s agenda in recent days has been taken over by its military operation against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq’s Sidekan region.
At the moment, about 1,500 Turkish troops of a commando brigade and a light infantry brigade responsible for border security at Semdinli, along with gendarmerie and army special operations battalions, are trying to open a corridor to advance from Sidekan toward Qandil, the "headquarters" of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
