Turkish warplanes have bombed suspected Kurdish rebel bases deep inside northern Iraq – in what appears the first time fighter jets have been used.
The PKK itself reportedly announced on an internet site that five of its fighters and two civilians had been killed in the mountain area, with two fighters wounded.
“Many civilians, among them women and children” were also wounded, the group was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.
Turkey’s NTV television station said 50 aircraft had taken part in the operation.
SULAIMANIYA, Iraq (Reuters) – Turkish warplanes targeting Kurdish rebels bombed villages deep in northern Iraq on Sunday, killing one woman and forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes, local officials said.
ANKARA (Reuters) – The head of Turkey’s military General Staff said it had U.S. approval for Turkish air strikes on Sunday against Kurdish PKK rebel targets in northern Iraq.
Scared villagers: Abdullah Ibrahim, a senior local official in the administrative centre of Sankasar, acknowledged that there were PKK bases in the area, about 170km from the Turkish border, but said they were far from the villages that were hit.
“The villagers are now scared and are hiding in nearby caves. They lost all their properties,” Ibrahim said.
The mayor of Sankasar town, north of the Iraqi Kurdish city of Sulaimaniya, Abdullah Ibrahim, said 200 families had fled their homes in villages in the Sankasar and Jarawa administrative areas and at least 10 houses had been destroyed.
General Staff, General Yasar Buyukanit, quoted by Turkey’s Anatolian state news agency, denied any civilian targets were hit and said his forces had acted with the implicit approval of U.S. occupying forces in Iraq.
“In opening Iraqi airspace to this action last night America gave its approval to the action,” he said, adding that the PKK fighters could no longer hide from Turkish forces.
The commander of the Turkish Army, Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, said that the United States had helped the operation by offering intelligence and clearance to enter Iraqi airspace.
Washington fears such an attack would create chaos in Iraq’s most stable region and possibly further afield.
Iraq’s foreign ministry has summoned the Turkish ambassador to protest Turkish air strikes inside its territory, saying they will jeopardise the neighbours’ friendly relations.
Wait! Did I hear this right? The US does not want Turkey to bomb Iraqi territory, but gave approval for Turkey to conduct an air strike. Is this another example of US DOUBLE SPEAK? So, which part of the most stabile Kurdish region used to be US allies? What are we doing to protect them after we sold them out? We give them oil contracts with one hand and show Turkey where to bomb them. Of course, US targeting capability has been stellar in the past, sacrifice a few villagers before you reach your target, is our motto.
Sphere: Related Content Posted by bosskitty December 16th, 2007 | Category: Accountability, Bomb, Casualties, Double Cross, DoubleSpeak, Hypocracy, Iraq, Kurds, PKK, Turkey, Ugly American, War Cost, collaborators, consequences
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Incoming! Duck and Cover – Turkey Bombs Iraq
December 17th, 2007 at 11:04 am
You know we’ve covered this one many times at Reconstitution.
This one ain’t even started yet. There’s plenty of booty to be had, if one just goes far enough to the south. And we set the justification for Turkey with our own “pre-emptive invasion.”
See you in Kirkuk.