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DOZENS DIE IN TURKEY BORDER CLASH
BBC NEWS
Karabakhopen
21-10-2007 20:02:07
At least 12 Turkish soldiers have been killed following an ambush by
Kurdish rebels near the Iraqi border - with 32 rebels also killed,
officials say.
The PKK guerrilla group said it had also taken "several" soldiers
hostage.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recalled security
officials to Ankara for a crisis meeting.
Correspondents say the attacks will increase the pressure on the
government to launch raids into Iraq, after it was given clearance
to do so by parliament.
On Wednesday, MPs voted overwhelmingly in support of a motion to
allow the military to launch offensives across the border, against
rebels based in the remote, mountainous north of Iraq.
It followed an escalation of raids by the PKK - the Kurdistan Workers'
Party - as part of its armed campaign for Kurdish autonomy.
Recent attacks blamed on the group have left more than 30 Turkish
soldiers and civilians dead.
Call for unity
In the latest attack shortly after midnight, a large group of PKK
rebels crossed the border from Iraq and launched their attack near
the village of Daglica in Hakkari province, the Turkish military said.
The rebels attacked with heavy weapons, also wounding a number of
soldiers, Turkish media reported.
The Turkish military said it sent reinforcements and helicopters to
the area, and launched retaliatory attacks in which 32 guerrillas
were killed.
PKK sources confirmed the fighting, and claimed more troops were
killed than the official figure of 12.
"There were clashes with the Turkish troops late last night in which
we have killed at least 16 soldiers and wounded 20. We also captured
several," Reuters quoted an unnamed rebel source as saying.
Not far from the scene of the fighting, in south-eastern Hakkari
province, a minibus was later caught in a landmine explosion, also
blamed on the PKK, that injured 10 civilians, the state news agency
Anatolia said.
The prime minister said: "We are very angry."
But he said he was "resolved to deal with these matters in a
cool-headed manner".
He urged the media to show restraint in its reporting of the situation.
Increased pressure
About 3,000 PKK fighters are believed to be based in northern Iraq
near the Turkish border, says the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Istanbul.
There have been regular clashes in the area since earlier in the year,
but the latest attack was one of the deadliest for some time.
The clashes will increase pressure on the government from the public
and the military for a tough response, our correspondent says.
The United States, Turkey's Nato ally, has called for restraint,
urging Turkey to work with Iraq to solve the problem.
The US and Iraq fear any incursions would destabilise Iraq's most
peaceful area - the autonomous Kurdish region in the north.
Iraqi leaders say they are determined to remove the PKK, but have
pleaded for more time.
The autonomous Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq warned
Turkish MPs that any intervention would be "illegal" and has denied
providing the PKK with any help.
The rebels themselves said they would fight any Turkish forces which
cross the border.
More than 30,000 people have been killed since the PKK began fighting
for greater autonomy for the largely-Kurdish south-eastern Turkey
since 1984.
BBC NEWS
Karabakhopen
21-10-2007 20:02:07
At least 12 Turkish soldiers have been killed following an ambush by
Kurdish rebels near the Iraqi border - with 32 rebels also killed,
officials say.
The PKK guerrilla group said it had also taken "several" soldiers
hostage.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recalled security
officials to Ankara for a crisis meeting.
Correspondents say the attacks will increase the pressure on the
government to launch raids into Iraq, after it was given clearance
to do so by parliament.
On Wednesday, MPs voted overwhelmingly in support of a motion to
allow the military to launch offensives across the border, against
rebels based in the remote, mountainous north of Iraq.
It followed an escalation of raids by the PKK - the Kurdistan Workers'
Party - as part of its armed campaign for Kurdish autonomy.
Recent attacks blamed on the group have left more than 30 Turkish
soldiers and civilians dead.
Call for unity
In the latest attack shortly after midnight, a large group of PKK
rebels crossed the border from Iraq and launched their attack near
the village of Daglica in Hakkari province, the Turkish military said.
The rebels attacked with heavy weapons, also wounding a number of
soldiers, Turkish media reported.
The Turkish military said it sent reinforcements and helicopters to
the area, and launched retaliatory attacks in which 32 guerrillas
were killed.
PKK sources confirmed the fighting, and claimed more troops were
killed than the official figure of 12.
"There were clashes with the Turkish troops late last night in which
we have killed at least 16 soldiers and wounded 20. We also captured
several," Reuters quoted an unnamed rebel source as saying.
Not far from the scene of the fighting, in south-eastern Hakkari
province, a minibus was later caught in a landmine explosion, also
blamed on the PKK, that injured 10 civilians, the state news agency
Anatolia said.
The prime minister said: "We are very angry."
But he said he was "resolved to deal with these matters in a
cool-headed manner".
He urged the media to show restraint in its reporting of the situation.
Increased pressure
About 3,000 PKK fighters are believed to be based in northern Iraq
near the Turkish border, says the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Istanbul.
There have been regular clashes in the area since earlier in the year,
but the latest attack was one of the deadliest for some time.
The clashes will increase pressure on the government from the public
and the military for a tough response, our correspondent says.
The United States, Turkey's Nato ally, has called for restraint,
urging Turkey to work with Iraq to solve the problem.
The US and Iraq fear any incursions would destabilise Iraq's most
peaceful area - the autonomous Kurdish region in the north.
Iraqi leaders say they are determined to remove the PKK, but have
pleaded for more time.
The autonomous Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq warned
Turkish MPs that any intervention would be "illegal" and has denied
providing the PKK with any help.
The rebels themselves said they would fight any Turkish forces which
cross the border.
More than 30,000 people have been killed since the PKK began fighting
for greater autonomy for the largely-Kurdish south-eastern Turkey
since 1984.