Top commanders visit Southeast provinces amid talk of cross-border operation

Chief of General Staff Gen. Necdet Özel, accompanied by commanders of the army, navy, air forces and gendarmerie forces, visited Batman and Siirt after visiting military bases in two southeastern provinces, Malatya and Diyarbakır, on Wednesday. The visits came as the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) intensified its attacks on Turkish troops.

Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), called for a ground offensive on Thursday against PKK bases in northern Iraq before winter. The Pro-PKK Fırat news agency, citing local sources, said on Wednesday that helicopters have ferried troops to border units.