Turkish Incursions into Kurdistan

The AO is reporting the Turkish Army in some strength entered northern Kurdistan today. The report argues the operation was a 'hot pursuit' case against suspected PKK rebels who have been 'baiting the bear' intensely over the past few weeks and more generally over the past three decades.

The officials who gave the accounts of the raid Wednesday are involved in anti-rebel operations. They did not disclose whether they participated in the planning of Wednesday's operation.

Two of the officials said any confrontation with Iraqi Kurdish groups, who have warned against a Turkish incursion, could trigger a larger cross-border operation. The Turkish military has asked the government in Ankara to approve such an incursion, but the government has not given formal approval.

Tensions are ratcheting up in northern Iraq and one of the few significant pre-war predictions of the problems that we could easily foresee occur that has not yet come true, major regional war sparked off by a three or four way fight in Kurdistan is becoming a stronger probability of occurring.

Cernig is the blog's resident Kurdistan politics expert, so I'll expect more from him in the next couple of days on this subject.