Will Turkey and Iraq allow al Qaeda to draw them into a fight?

Iraq warns Turkey against 'disastrous' incursion

14 hours ago

ANKARA (AFP) — Turkey paraded its military muscle Monday, amid stern warnings from Baghdad that any large-scale Turkish incursion against Kurdish rebel bases in northern Iraq would have "disastrous" results.

In the capital Ankara, tanks and rocket launchers were on display in the annual national day parade as Turks celebrated the 84th anniversary of the secular republic's creation by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

In stark contrast to the festive mood across most of the country, Turkish troops faced off with some 100 rebels in the Ikiyaka mountains in the southeast.

The military had surrounded the fighters from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in a bid to prevent them escaping across the Iraqi border, the Anatolia news agency reported

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Volume 4, Issue 22 (July 10, 2007)

Firefight in Iraq Exposes Presence of Turkish Al-Qaeda Operatives

By Frank Hyland

The northward moves by Kurdish rebels into Turkey in recent weeks and their bombings of Turkish military and civilian targets have been reported extensively, as have the consequent threats by the Turkish military to move into Iraq to bring about a halt to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) attacks. A firefight with U.S. forces in Iraq on June 23, however, has shed light on the hitherto lesser known southward flow of foreign fighters out of Turkey into Iraq and the role of Turkish al-Qaeda in overseeing that movement.

On June 23, as members of the Multinational Force-Iraq (MNF-I) approached a targeted building near Hawija, 150 miles north of Baghdad and south of Kirkuk, an area populated primarily by Kurds, four individuals entered a vehicle and attempted to leave the scene (MNF-I Statement, June 28). MNF-I forces followed the vehicle until it stopped and the occupants got out wielding weapons. A firefight ensued, in which all four were killed (Today's Zaman, June 29). Rocket-propelled grenades were also found in the vehicle. Two of the men have been identified: Mehmet Yilmaz, characterized as a senior leader in al-Qaeda, whose nom de guerre was Khalid al-Turki, and Mehmet Resit Isik, a courier and a close associate of senior al-Qaeda leaders, also known as Khalil al-Turki (the appellation "al-Turki" carries with it the connotation of nationality or heritage, in this case, Turkey). The MNF-I statement said that the bodies of both men had been positively identified. Yilmaz—also identified through a photo comparison and a forged Iraqi personal identification card—had operated a cell that brought foreign fighters into Iraq (Reuters, June 28).

The history of Yilmaz's involvement in al-Qaeda supports the description of him as a "senior" leader in the group. In 2001, an MNF-I statement said that Yilmaz led a group of Turks to fight in Afghanistan in the wake of the U.S. and coalition invasion to oust the Taliban from power. He was wounded there and, while in Pakistan for treatment, was captured by Pakistani authorities and deported to Turkey. Without elaboration, the MNF-I statement acknowledged that Yilmaz was released by Turkish authorities in late 2005 and resumed his operations in support of al-Qaeda in 2006, this time in Iraq. Turkish authorities are said to be investigating several attacks in which Yilmaz may have been involved (Trendaz, June 28).

There are a number of implications for Turkey and others, including the United States, regarding the involvement in Turkish al-Qaeda of an individual with the depth and breadth of experience of Yilmaz. First and foremost, it reinforces the existing evidence seen in numerous instances across North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East that returning jihadis do, in fact, remain involved in the jihad and assume roles of increasing responsibility within al-Qaeda and its affiliated groups. Yilmaz's combat experiences, including that of being wounded, formed the foundation of and were the preparation for his latest role in Iraq. Those experiences parallel that of any number of other senior al-Qaeda operatives, including Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Mohammed Atef and Abu Zubaydah.

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Paradigm Intel:
Looks like al Qaeda has been working on this PPK attack, since before July 10, 2007, To draw Turkey and Iraq into a fight, to pull attention away from its failure in Iraq and maybe drawn down some USA troops from attacking al Qaeda. ( This cost them a bundle $, and they are low on funds and the entire op is around only 100 men...false flag ops against the PPk and Turky and aQ has Turkey and Iraq at war. )

Are Turkey and Iraq SMART ENOUGH TO AMBUSH THIS al Qaeda operation.


Gerald