TURKEY: Turkey says it has attacked Kurdish rebels in Iraq

Record ID: 353033

  • Title: TURKEY: Turkey says it has attacked Kurdish rebels in Iraq
  • Date: 11th May 2008
  • Summary: (BN10) DIYARBAKIR, TURKEY (MAY 10, 2008) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) F-16 WAR JETS IN DIYARBAKIR MILITARY AIRPORT TAKING OFF ANOTHER F-16 WAR JET TAKING OFF AT DIYARBAKIR MILITARY AIRPORT VARIOUS OF F-16 WAR JETS AT DIYARBAKIR MILITARY AIRPORT F-16 WAR JET TAKING OFF AT DIYARBAKIR MILITARY AIRPORT
  • Embargoed: 26th May 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Reuters ID: LVA5YE2J91PFASRVMILHHP0YVDAJ
  • Story Text: Turkey said on Sunday (May 11) it had launched air and artillery attacks against Kurdish separatist rebels in northern Iraq overnight after an insurgent strike on a military base.

    "Targets proven to belong to the PKK terrorist organisation in northern Iraq were put under heavy and effective fire by our air force planes with the support of artillery," the statement said.
    The attacks, which began after 1500 GMT, targeted a group of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) members that had escaped into Iraq from Turkey after a rebel attack on gendarme headquarters that resulted in the deaths of six soldiers.
    Two soldiers were killed in the initial PKK attack Friday night and four more later when in ensuing clashes with the rebels.
    The military statement said in a statement released on its website that necessary efforts were being made to determine the extent of the casualties inflicted on the Kurdistan Workers Party.
    A senior Iraqi border security official said there was one air strike as well as artillery shelling of the border area inside northern Iraq overnight.
    He said there were no casualties in attacks he said occurred around 11pm (2000gmt) on Saturday.
    Turkey blames the PKK for the deaths of 40,000 since 1984 when the group took up arms to fight for a Kurdish homeland in southeast Turkey.
    Ankara, like the European Union and the United States considers the group a terrorist organisation.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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