Turkey's response to attacks by the Kurdistan Worker's Party could be a preview of what could come with Iran, who is involved in a startlingly similar battle with the Party for Free Life in Kurdistan, or PJAK. The PJAK has been involved in an ongoing effort to push the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps out of the Kurdistan province in Iran, and their efforts are no less violent than the PKK's.
Last week, Front Page Magazine reported intense fighting between the PJAK and Iranian troops starting in August 2007:
Kurdish rebels based in the rugged mountains along Iraq’s northeastern border with Iran told Newsmax in exclusive interviews at secret guerilla bases that they have killed 200 Iranian Revolutionary Guards troops during clashes over the past two months.
Guerilla leaders of the Party of the Free Life of Kurdistan, PJAK, said they have clashed with Iranian forces 21 times during this time.
According to Washington think-tank The Jamestown Foundation, Iran has entered Iraq territory in response to PJAK attacks:
PJAK has adopted hit-and-run assault tactics against Iranian forces, carrying them out with "small arms and grenades," according to Zagros. Afterward, PJAK fighters may either melt back into Iranian society or re-cross the border into Iraqi Kurdistan.
In May 2006, al-Jazeera reported Iran had pursued PJAK rebels five kilometers into Iraq before withdrawing. Iran has also accused the United States of supporting the PJAK, accusations the United States denies. There are rumors that the PJAK has connections to the PKK, which is labeled a terrorist organization by the United States.
A Turkish movement into Iraq due to PKK attacks could be used as a yardstick for Iran to gage their reaction to future PJAK attacks. The last thing the United States – or the world for that matter – needs is two more countries fighting in Iraq.
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