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Military: Turkish planes, artillery bomb Kurdish rebels
2008-04-26
Turkish warplanes and artillery units struck Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq who were preparing to cross the border to carry out attacks, the military said Saturday. The raids took place Friday and Saturday, according to a brief statement on the military's Web site. The strikes were in the regions of Zap, Avasin-Basyan and Hakurk near the border, where rebels were known to have maintained bases in the past. In the statement, the military said all of its planes had returned to their bases safely after "successfully completing their duty." There was no word on any casualties, but the military said it had taken care not to harm the local civilian population there. The Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, has been fighting for self-rule in Turkey's southeast from bases in northern Iraq. The fighting has claimed tens of thousands of lives since 1984. Firat, a pro-Kurdish news agency based in Europe that often carries rebel statements, said Turkish warplanes bombed the same areas in northern Iraq on Friday evening and early Saturday, with Saturday's bombing lasting nearly 45 minutes. On Friday, Firat reported the areas were "intensely shelled" from inside Turkey after being bombed by warplanes. It said rebels did not suffer any casualties, citing rebel sources without naming them. Turkey has staged several cross-border aerial operations against the PKK in the past few months. In February it sent thousand of troops across the border for an eight-day ground incursion, vowing to return if necessary. It was Turkey's first major ground operation in Iraq since the U.S.-led coalition toppled Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003. The U.S. considers the PKK to be a terrorist organization and has been sharing intelligence about the group with Turkey.
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