US offers rewards for info on PKK chiefs wanted by Turkey

ANKARA: The United States is offering millions of dollars in rewards for information over the whereabouts of three leaders of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a top American official said after a visit to Ankara Tuesday.

The rewards of up to US$ 5 million (4.4 million euros) could help ease tensions with Ankara which has long urged its Western allies to take a tougher line against the PKK, banned as a terror group not just by Turkey but also the United States and the EU.

Matthew Palmer, a US deputy assistant secretary of state, said the rewards had been authorised for “information leading to the identification or location” of Murat Karayilan, Cemil Bayik and Duran Kalkan.

Information about Karayilan could be worth up to US$ 5 million, concerning Bayik US$ 4 million and Kalkan US$ 3 million, he added in a statement released by the US embassy in Ankara.

While the State Department has designated the PKK as a terror group since 1997, Turkey has been hugely unhappy over cooperation in Syria between the United States and the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara considers a branch of the PKK.

Bilateral ties also suffered over thedetentionin Turkey ofAmerican pastor Andrew Brunson, which lasted more than two years.

But Brunson was released in October and both sides appear keen on improving the key relationship between the Nato allies.

“The United States values its counterterrorism cooperation with our Nato ally Turkey,” said Palmer, adding that the rewards were being issued as part of the State Department’s Rewards for Justice scheme. — AFP