Turkey onslaught on Kurds, after Islamic State attack, fuels anger

1	Musician Axin Bro, 36, talks to the Associated Press at a cafe in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey, Thursday, July 30, 2015.
2	"We are used to this. Kurds have witnessed betrayal for centuries" says Bro.
3	In Turkey's Kurdish heartland, the government's renewed military onslaught against the rebels has left many people crying treachery - with suspicions rife that Turkey used a brief offensive against IS as a cover to launch a broad attack against the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK.
4	DIYARBAKIR, Turkey - Just when it seemed Turkey was getting serious about the fight against the Islamic State group, it has turned its military focus to pounding its old foe: the Kurdish rebels.
5	In Turkey's Kurdish heartland, the government's renewed military onslaught against the rebels has left many people crying treachery - with suspicions rife that Turkey used a brief offensive against Islamic State militants as a cover to open a broad attack against the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK.
6	Many Kurds also are venting frustration against the United States, accusing Washington of turning a blind eye to Turkish attacks on the Kurds in exchange for logistical support on the Islamic State group.
7	"We are used to this. Kurds have witnessed betrayal for centuries" said Axin Bro, a musician.
8	"National powers use us for their own ends."
9	The U.S. had welcomed Turkey's air assault last week on the Islamic State group, along with its decision to open air bases for American sorties, as a sign that Turkey had dropped its reluctance to fight the extremist group.
10	Since then, the jets taking off from this city in Kurdish-dominated lands have been hitting PKK targets in northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey, as the militant group has targeted military and police in Turkey.
11	Turkish jets again pounded PKK targets in northern Iraq in an operation Thursday that lasted 21/2 hours, a government official said.
12	He said the latest air strikes were in retaliation for an attack on troops stationed near the border with Iraq earlier in the day that killed three soldiers.
13	He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government rules requiring prior authorization to speak to journalists.
14	The U.S. has said Turkey has a right to defend itself against the PKK, which Washington, like Turkey, considers a terrorist group.
15	The PKK is affiliated with, but separate from, Syrian Kurdish fighters allied with the United States in its fight against the Islamic State group.
16	Turkish officials say the Syrian Kurdish group is not a target of Turkey's operations.
17	Of the 1,300 people the government rounded up in a nationwide antiterror sweep, the overwhelming number has been Kurdish.
18	That may reflect the PKK's greater presence in Turkish society, but Kurdish politicians charge that the government's objective is to curb the rising political power of the Kurds.
19	Kurdish activists and government critics also believe the government's crackdown on the PKK is a tactic aimed at strengthening the ruling party ahead of possible new elections in November.