US steps up campaign against PKK

Urbancic described the terrorist group as an octopus, having tentacles everywhere.

WASHINGTON - The United States has announced it will step up its efforts to contain the activities of the terrorist group the PKK in Europe.

Speaking late Tuesday after rounding off a ten day tour of European capitals that saw him visit six countries, Frank Urbancic, the US’s Principal Deputy Co-ordinator for Counterterrorism, said that Washington would work to bloc the PKK’s propaganda activities and cut off the financial resources of the group.

A number of countries in Europe still allowed the PKK to generate propaganda, as well as letting it raise revenue and take advantage of political asylum, Urbancic said. The US was requesting that this support be cut off, he said. Washington considered it to be a matter of importance to stop the threat posed by the PKK,

The death of a Turkish citizen in south eastern Anatolia was no different for the US than the death of an American citizen in Izmir or California due to terrorist attacks, said Urbancic.