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Turkey says 90-100 Kurd rebels killed in N. Iraq raids
RANIA, Iraq: Turkeys military said on Tuesday it had killed up to 100 Kurdish rebels in six days of air and artillery strikes on northern Iraq, but Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas disputed the toll and launched more attacks inside Turkey.Turkeys strikes are the first in the mountains of northern Iraq in more than a year and are meant as retaliation for an escalation of guerilla attacks after the collapse of efforts to negotiate a settlement to the 27-year-old conflict. A Turkish military statement said warplanes had struck 132 targets of the PKK, which uses the region as a base to launch attacks on Turkey in its fight for Kurdish self-rule. According to initial information 90-100 terrorists were rendered ineffective, according to the General Staff, using an expression referring to the killing of militants. The air and ground operations will continue, the military added. The military said definite figures on PKK casualties were not available, but it had information that more than 80 militants were also wounded in the operations, which hit 73 shelters, eight stores and nine anti-aircraft positions. But seven Iraqi civilians were also killed on Sunday in a Turkish air strike, Iraqi Kurdish officials and witnesses said, the first civilians killed since the raids began last Wednesday. PKK official Rozh Willat said the Turkish military figures were wrong. The casualty figures could not be independently confirmed. Both Iraqs central government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government in Arbil have condemned the shelling. The Turkish government and military say the air strikes are to deny rebels a haven there from which to attack Turkey. Posted by: Steve White 2011-08-24 |
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