Kurdish PKK rebels kill 8 Turkish soldiers and a local guard in two attacks as Ankara and Iraqi Kurds swap fierce threats

Three Turkish soldiers died in a clash with the Kurdish separatists in Turkey’s eastern Bingol province Sunday; another two and a Kurdish militiaman were killed in Sirnak province on Iraq’s border. debkafile: Ankara accuses Iraqi Kurdistan of harboring the PKK terrorists, which allows them to stage cross-border raids into Turkey and run back for cover.
Monday, April 9, Ankara also challenged Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani’s claim to oil-rich Kirkuk in N. Iraq. Officials in the Turkish capital said his persistence will lead to the loss of the last trace of stability in Iraq. Barzani retorted: “Turkey is not allowed to intervene in the Kirkuk issue; if it does, we will interfere over Diyarbakir and other cities in Turkey.”
Ankara replied: “Turkey will not hesitate to take necessary precautions so that Barzani can’t even spell the “D” of Diyarkabir (the biggest city in Turkey’s southeastern Kurdish region). Barzani should know his place.”