Supreme anti-terrorism board convenes

In the wake of two attacks in the past week by the terrorist PKK in the southeastern provinces of Hakkari and Diyarbakir, which killed a total of 22 soldiers and policemen and injured many others, the Supreme Anti-Terrorism Board, chaired by Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan, yesterday convened in Ankara to discuss a new course of action against the terrorist group. The meeting included Deputy Premier Cemil Cicek, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, Interior Minister Besir Atalay, Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin, and Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan, along with top military commanders and other high-level security officials, including Chief of General Staff Ilker Basbug, National Intelligence Agency (MIT) Undersecretary Emre Taner and Security General Director Oguz Kagan Koksal. There was no statement after the six-hour meeting. The participants reportedly discussed issues such as fortifying military outposts along the Turkish-Iraqi border, better intelligence-sharing, and socioeconomic measures to combat terrorism. Basbug also reportedly briefed the board members about the army's requests for broader powers to fight the terrorist PKK, while Babacan spoke about the possible effects of those powers on Turkey's European Union accession bid. The board will continue discussing the issue next week.