A group linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has threatened attacks targeting civilians and tourists, saying it will now launch “all-out” attacks in response to recent military strikes targeting the terrorist group.
“Sensitivity we have so far shown toward civilians and tourists is no longer in place,” a statement released by Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), widely known to be an urban wing of the PKK, said on Sunday, according to the pro-PKK Fırat news agency. The statement complained of the Turkish state’s “policies of massacre and destruction” and alleged that the Turkish military is using chemical weapons in anti-PKK attacks. It also said pressure on Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed leader of the PKK, has been mounting, pushing TAK “into a point of no-return.”
Turkish warplanes have been attacking PKK targets since Wednesday, following a PKK ambush in southeastern Anatolia that killed eight soldiers and a village guard. The government has vowed to pursue the fight against the PKK and a National Security Council (MGK) statement on Thursday said it would adopt a “more effective and decisive strategy in the fight against terrorism.”