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ANKARA, Aug 2 (AFP) - 17h07 - Officials from
Iraq, Turkey and the United States will hold talks
in Washington on Wednesday to discuss ways to tackle
armed Turkish Kurd rebels hiding in the mountains of
northern Iraq, a Turkish diplomat said.
"The talks will cover a wide-range of issues such as
the list of wanted militants passed on to both US
and Iraqi officials as well as the increase in the
attacks carried out" by the outlawed Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK), the diplomat, who requested
anonymity, told AFP.
The two-day meeting will be the second of its kind.
The first round of talks was held in Ankara in
January.
Ankara has long been pressing Washington to take
action against the PKK, an armed group blacklisted
as a terrorist organization by the US and the
European Union, which has recently stepped up
violence in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish
southeast.
Last month, the number two of the Turkish army,
General Ilker Basbug, said that Washington has
ordered the capture of PKK commanders in northern
Iraq and also warned of a Turkish military incursion
into the region if Baghdad fails to curb the rebels.
The PKK took refuge in the mountains of neighboring
northern Iraq after a unilateral ceasefire it
declared in 1999 in its war with Ankara.
The militants began sneaking back into Turkey after
they called off the truce in June 2004, saying
Ankara's reforms to expand Kurdish freedoms were
inadequate.
Turkish officials say PKK militants are infiltrating
Turkey with large amounts of explosives and hold the
rebels responsible for a number of deadly blasts in
holiday resorts.
AFP
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