Turkish air force bombs northern Iraq, kills PKK militants

10/10/2008

ANKARA, Turkey -- Warplanes and artillery units bombed bases of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, killing a large group of PKK militants, the armed forces said on Friday (October 10th). The operation took place late Thursday, military spokesman General Metin Gurak said, without providing the location or the number of PKK militants killed. The offensive was the latest in a series of punitive operations in northern Iraq to avenge a PKK ambush a week ago that killed 17 Turkish soldiers.

On Thursday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Ankara expects more support from authorities in northern Iraq and in the EU to fight the PKK. EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn condemned last week's PKK attack, as did Iraqi Kurdish regional Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani.

Meanwhile, police detained three suspects over Wednesday's attack on a police shuttle bus in Diyarbakir, Turkey, that killed five people and injured 20. Police are hunting for another suspect, allegedly responsible for planning the crime. All the suspects are allegedly PKK members. (Zaman, Vatan, Milliyet - 10/10/08; CNN Turk, Anadolu news agency, Hurriyet, NTV - 09/10/08)