Jigs
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Sunday, July 11, 2010
ISTANBUL - Daily News with wires
An overnight raid by Turkish warplanes in northern Iraq reportedly injured one civilian and damaged several farms, though the late-Friday attack was shrouded in mystery due to a lack of confirmation from the Turkish General Staff.
The bombing started at 3 a.m. and lasted for one hour in the area of Sidakan, near the Iranian border, Agence France-Presse reported Saturday, citing an Iraqi regional administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
A civilian was injured and farms were damaged, the official said, adding that the raid hit villages in the Kandil Mountains, an area in northeastern Iraq that also straddles the borders of Iran and Turkey and is a staging area for members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK.
The bombing occurred at 3 a.m. and hit five sites, according to PUKMedia, the website of Iraqi President Jalal Talabanis Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. The bombardment caused panic among the residents of the area and big material damage to citizens farms and livestock, PUKMedia reported.
The PKK has significantly escalated its attacks against Turkish targets after jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan said in May he was abandoning efforts for peace with Ankara and the outlawed group called off a unilateral truce last month.
Turkey has asked Iraq, the United States and the Regional Kurdish Administration in Arbil to hand over 248 alleged PKK members operating from rear bases in Iraq, daily Hürriyet reported Saturday. The list includes commanders such as Murat Karayılan, Cemil Bayık and Duran Kalkan, and Ankara wants the handover to be conducted as soon as possible, the newspaper said, quoting unnamed senior Turkish officials.
The outlawed PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has been fighting for Kurdish self-rule since August 1984. The nearly 26-year conflict has claimed some 45,000 lives.
Turkey has also brought up the idea of a joint military operation in northern Iraq if necessary, daily Hürriyet reported, quoted an anonymous official as saying that the net is tightening.
According to experts, there are some 2,000 PKK members holed up in northern Iraq, from where they stage attacks on Turkish territory.
Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ last week strongly criticized the northern Iraqi administration for failing to take action against the PKK.
The Turkish military meanwhile launched an operation Saturday night in the Kilise Mountains, near the southeastern province of Şırnak, after detecting a group of alleged terrorists, the Doğan news agency reported Sunday. The fight on the mountain, which started with mortar and artillery shooting, lasted until Sunday morning.
The Kilise Mountains are included in an area that has been declared a security zone by the Turkish General Staff.
Military activity has also started near another group of mountains that lie across the border between Turkey and northern Iraq.
'Mystery' raid in northern Iraq unconfirmed by Turkish General Staff - Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review
ISTANBUL - Daily News with wires
An overnight raid by Turkish warplanes in northern Iraq reportedly injured one civilian and damaged several farms, though the late-Friday attack was shrouded in mystery due to a lack of confirmation from the Turkish General Staff.
The bombing started at 3 a.m. and lasted for one hour in the area of Sidakan, near the Iranian border, Agence France-Presse reported Saturday, citing an Iraqi regional administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
A civilian was injured and farms were damaged, the official said, adding that the raid hit villages in the Kandil Mountains, an area in northeastern Iraq that also straddles the borders of Iran and Turkey and is a staging area for members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK.
The bombing occurred at 3 a.m. and hit five sites, according to PUKMedia, the website of Iraqi President Jalal Talabanis Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. The bombardment caused panic among the residents of the area and big material damage to citizens farms and livestock, PUKMedia reported.
The PKK has significantly escalated its attacks against Turkish targets after jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan said in May he was abandoning efforts for peace with Ankara and the outlawed group called off a unilateral truce last month.
Turkey has asked Iraq, the United States and the Regional Kurdish Administration in Arbil to hand over 248 alleged PKK members operating from rear bases in Iraq, daily Hürriyet reported Saturday. The list includes commanders such as Murat Karayılan, Cemil Bayık and Duran Kalkan, and Ankara wants the handover to be conducted as soon as possible, the newspaper said, quoting unnamed senior Turkish officials.
The outlawed PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has been fighting for Kurdish self-rule since August 1984. The nearly 26-year conflict has claimed some 45,000 lives.
Turkey has also brought up the idea of a joint military operation in northern Iraq if necessary, daily Hürriyet reported, quoted an anonymous official as saying that the net is tightening.
According to experts, there are some 2,000 PKK members holed up in northern Iraq, from where they stage attacks on Turkish territory.
Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ last week strongly criticized the northern Iraqi administration for failing to take action against the PKK.
The Turkish military meanwhile launched an operation Saturday night in the Kilise Mountains, near the southeastern province of Şırnak, after detecting a group of alleged terrorists, the Doğan news agency reported Sunday. The fight on the mountain, which started with mortar and artillery shooting, lasted until Sunday morning.
The Kilise Mountains are included in an area that has been declared a security zone by the Turkish General Staff.
Military activity has also started near another group of mountains that lie across the border between Turkey and northern Iraq.
'Mystery' raid in northern Iraq unconfirmed by Turkish General Staff - Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review
