Turkey’s defence minister said Thursday a major operation launched against Kurdish rebels in retaliation for an attack that killed 24 soldiers had ended, Anatolia news agency reported. “Other than our normal routine struggle against terror, the operation in Kazan valley that was started after the Cukurca attack is over. But our normal struggle against terror is ongoing,” Anatolia quoted Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz as saying.
The army last week announced that they initiated an extensive ground operation supported with air strikes “in five different spots” both inside the country in southeast Turkey and across the Iraqi border. It was not immediately clear from the minister’s remarks whether operations had ended all five spots. The operations involved 22 battalions, but the army did not specify the number of troops dispatched to Iraq. Geographically the valley extends between Hakkari province in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq.
