TURKEY: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reaffirms to fight against Kurdish PKK rebels after blast in south east Turkey

Record ID: 359133

  • Title: TURKEY: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reaffirms to fight against Kurdish PKK rebels after blast in south east Turkey
  • Date: 4th January 2008
  • Summary: (BN15) DIYARBAKIR, TURKEY (JANUARY 3, 2008) (REUTERS) WIDE VIEW OF EXPLOSION SITE RESCUE TEAM AND PEOPLE AT EXPLOSION SITE GATHERED AROUND A DEAD BODY RESCUE TEAM MEMBER COVERING DEAD BODY ON GROUND PEOPLE SURROUNDING MILITARY BUS WITH CIVILIAN LICENSE PLATE THAT HAS BEEN DESTROYED RESCUE TEAM WORKING BY MILITARY BUS AMBULANCES IN EXPLOSION SITE DRIVING AWAY HOUSE HEAVILY
  • Embargoed: 19th January 2008 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA1C25WDA1E2D0PA88PIONI6DQG
  • Story Text: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reaffirms to fight against Kurdish PKK rebels as four people are killed and 52 injured when a bomb rips through a military vehicle in a mainly Kurdish populated southeastern city Diyarbakir.
    Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reaffirmed on Thursday (January 3) to fight against Kurdish PKK rebels with the same determination as he explained four people were killed and 52 injured when a bomb ripped through a military vehicle in a southeastern Kurdish populated city Diyarbakir.
    Diyarbakir is the biggest city of mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey and home to large numbers of troops who are battling PKK Kurdish rebels both inside Turkey and in nearby northern Iraq. The blast will keep up pressure on Turkey to strike PKK positions in northern Iraq.

    "We will continue our fight against terrorism with the same determination, whether domestically or internationally," Erdogan told reporters. He said six were seriously injured.
    Diyarbakir's governor said the number of those injured in the blast was
    He said the bomb had been set off by remote control.
    The injured included students who were leaving a nearby school at the time of the blast.
    A large hotel and shopping centre were close to the blast site, as well as large military installations.
    Several explosions happened in succession, witnesses said, but it was not clear whether the later blasts were caused by exploding fuel tanks or another bomb.
    Turkish security forces have been on alert over the New Year fearing possible attacks by the PKK and its supporters as warplanes target rebel guerrillas hiding in northern Iraq.
    A woman was killed last week in a bomb blast in Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, and on Wednesday (January 2) in IStanbul another explosion in a garbage bin wounded three people.
    Authorities suspect the PKK was behind both attacks, although nobody has claimed responsibility.
    Turkey's government and top generals have said the aerial bombing campaign of PKK positions in northern Iraq will continue "for as long as necessary".
    Turkey, which has the second largest army in NATO, has massed up to 100,000 troops near the mountainous Iraqi border but has so far held back from a full-scale invasion, though commandos have conducted limited raids into Iraqi territory.
    Ankara says it has the right to hit the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Iraq under international law. The PKK has been using northern Iraq as a launchpad to stage attacks that have killed dozens of Turkish troops over the past few months.
    Ankara blames the PKK for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people since the group launched its armed campaign for an ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey in 1984.
    The United States and European Union, like Turkey, classify the PKK as a terrorist organization. The U.S. military is sharing intelligence with Turkey to help combat the PKK though Washington has also urged Ankara to act with restraint.
    The fight against the PKK is expected to top the agenda when Turkey's President Abdullah Gul meets U.S. President George W. Bush at the White House next Tuesday (January 8).
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