Turkish jets bomb targets in N. Iraq

[unhappycamper]

Villagers walks through a rubble at the Qlatooka village near Iraq's border with Turkey on Dec. 16. Turkish planes bombed Kurdish rebel targets as far as 60 miles inside northern Iraq for three hours earlier in the day in the largest aerial attack against the PKK separatist group in recent years.


Turkish jets bomb targets in N. Iraq
By Suzan Fraser - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Dec 16, 2007 17:06:15 EST

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdish rebel targets as far as 60 miles inside northern Iraq for three hours early Sunday, in the largest aerial attack against the outlawed separatist group in recent years. An Iraqi official said the planes attacked several villages, killing one woman.

In the nighttime offensive, fighter jets hit rebel positions close to the border with Turkey and in the Qandil mountains, which straddles the Iraq-Iran border — and is about 100 kilometers from the frontier between Iraq and Turkey, the military said in a statement on its Web site. It said the operation was directed against the rebels and not against the local population.

As many as 50 fighter jets were involved in the airstrikes, private NTV television and other media reported. Turkey has recently attacked the area with ground-based artillery and helicopters and there have been some unconfirmed reports of airstrikes by warplanes.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested Turkey could stage more attacks on Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, hide-outs in northern Iraq.

“This operation, which was carried out under night conditions, was a success,” Erdogan said Sunday. “Our struggle (against the PKK) will continue inside and outside Turkey with the same determination.”


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/12/ap_turkeyiraq_071216/