The PKK Camp in the late winter and spring of 2004, in the Qandil Mountains of Iraq. The Kurds call this area Southern Kurdistan. The followers of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader and president of the rebel group, believe that he can lead the Kurds to freedom and independence. The Turkish government has been holding Ocalan captive since he was captured in Kenya in 1999.
The PKK (Kurdish Workers Party) has approximately 3,000 militants based in northern Iraq. The PKK wants a breakaway Kurdish state, and has been accused of several bombings in Turkey, one of the attacks was on the popular seaside resort of Kusadasi, killing five people in July 2005. Turkey?s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to take action against the Kurdish rebels that have situated themselves in northern Iraq. If US-led forces can stop them from crossing the border, Erdogan will reconsider.
