German intelligence doubts PKK involvement in Istanbul bombings

04/08/2008

BERLIN, Germany -- German intelligence services doubt the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was involved in the July 27th twin bomb attacks in Istanbul, media reported on Monday (August 4th). "The PKK did not carry out the bombings," Ernst Uhrlau, president of the German intelligence agency BND, told the daily Bild. Uhrlau said the methods used in Istanbul do not fit those of the PKK, which has denied any involvement. "Considering the techniques and the setting, it is more likely that a state within a state or a radical Islamist organisation was responsible," Uhrlau added. On Saturday, Turkish Interior Minister Besir Atalay blamed the PKK for the attacks that killed 17 people and injured more than 150. He also announced the arrest of several PKK members.

In other news, Turkish troops killed eight PKK members in clashes in the southeast province of Sirnak, the General Staff said in a statement on its website Sunday. On Friday, PKK militants opened fire on village guards in a mountainous area along the Iraqi border, killing five and wounding five others. (Sabah, Zaman, Anadolu news agency, Bild - 04/08/08, AFP, Hurriyet, Turkish Press - 03/08/08)