At the time of this writing, gunfire can still be heard in the frontier town of Silopi, which is 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of the Turkey to Iraqi Kurdistan Khabur crossing. The small town with its staunchly pro-Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) residents is the venue of the latest flare-up between the Turkish security forces and PKK fighters. The skirmishes that took lives from both sides started after nightfall and continued through the next day, Aug. 7.
Turkish warplanes have been pounding the PKK bases and its headquarters in the Qandil Mountains in Iraqi Kurdistan, and the loss of lives, particularly of Turkish military personnel and policemen, has increased. Highways between provincial centers in the eastern part of Turkey are frequently closed.
