Sunday, December 23, 2007

Turkish raid in northern Iraq by air

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"ANKARA (Thomson Financial) - Turkish aircraft on Sunday carried out fresh attacks on Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, Turkey's Anatolia news agency reported, citing a spokesman for the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga security force.

Turkish fighter jets first carried out reconnaissance in the Qandil mountains near the border with Turkey and Iran, where Ankara says thousands of PKK rebels are based, before bombing certain positions, Anatolia cited spokesman Jabbar Yawar as saying.

Yawar told Turkish television channel NTV that three jets took part in the raid in the uninhabited Rawanduz area.

There was no immediate confirmation from the Turkish military.

On Saturday the Turkish military said its aircraft had attacked PKK positions in northern Iraq for the third time in less than a week, bombing and shelling them and warning more raids would follow.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and many other countries, has waged a bloody campaign for Kurdish self-rule in southeast Turkey since 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives.

Turkey has been stepping up pressure since its parliament approved cross-border raids on PKK bases in October, with Ankara saying the Iraqi government and its US backers were not doing enough to halt attacks.

On Dec 16 the Turkish military said its aircraft attacked PKK positions in the Qandil mountains, which Ankara says the rebels use as a springboard for attacks on Turkey.

Two days later the Turkish army said troops penetrated into northern Iraq from the southeast Turkish province of Hakkari. Iraqi officials said about 500 Turkish troops took part in the ground operation.
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