Here we go again, the Turks are claiming airstrikes inside Iraq on Kurd rebels outposts. I'm sure there will be denials on the Kurd side but the sum of it is still no good. The last thing that U.S. and IA operations need in Iraq right now is a third party tosses missiles into the fray.
If this confrontation between Turkey and the Kurds were to escalate, it will invite Iran into the conflict as Iran has always had issues with the PKK.
The U.S. will have a test of diplomacy on its hands here - they've already tried to calm Turkey with help on intelligence on the rebels but it appears that Turkey is just itching for a fight.
Full story is here.
If this confrontation between Turkey and the Kurds were to escalate, it will invite Iran into the conflict as Iran has always had issues with the PKK.
The U.S. will have a test of diplomacy on its hands here - they've already tried to calm Turkey with help on intelligence on the rebels but it appears that Turkey is just itching for a fight.
Full story is here.
Today: December 16, 2007 at 6:40:5 PST
Turkish Planes Hit Rebel Targets in Iraq
By SUZAN FRASER
Associated Press Writer
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -
Turkish warplanes hit Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq early Sunday, Turkey's military said, the first such attack since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. An Iraqi official said the planes attacked several villages, killing one woman.
Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek urged Kurdish separatists to surrender and said Turkey would press ahead with operations against rebel bases in northern Iraq "with determination when necessary."
The attack came a month after the United States promised to share intelligence with Turkey about the Kurdistan Workers Party, which seeks autonomy for the Kurdish minority in southeastern Turkey and has hideouts in northern Iraq.
The fighter jets hit rebel close to the border with Turkey and in Qandil mountain further away from the frontier, the military said in a statement on its Web site. It said the operation was directed against the PKK and not against the local population.
A top Iraqi official said Turkish warplanes bombarded 10 Kurdish villages, killing one woman and injuring two others.
Abdullah Ibrahim, a top local official in the administrative center of Sangasar, acknowledged that there were Kurdish rebel bases in the area, but said they were far from the villages that were hit
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