Turkey's PM: Military Operations Against Kurdish Rebels Will Continue Until They Lay Down Their Arms

Turkish aircraft targeted 50 Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq. (Reuters)

Turkey To Pursue Kurd Rebels Till They Lay Down Arms: PM -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday military operations against Kurdish rebels would continue until they laid down their arms, as Turkish media reported warplanes had bombed militants in northern Iraq for a third day.

The prospect of an end to three decades of war between the Turkish state and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has gained momentum in recent weeks after the government acknowledged it was talking to the insurgents' jailed leader.

Erdogan, under pressure to bring an end to the violence, has said his government's renewed peace efforts are sincere but has also maintained Ankara's hardline rhetoric over a conflict that has burned for 30 years.

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Update #1: Turkey air strikes as Kurd activists' bodies are returned -- BBC
Update #2: Turkey hits PKK in Iraq as bodies of slain Kurds arrive -- AFP

My Comment: I guess the reconciliation talks from last month have not worked out to Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan's liking.