Turkish Air Strikes Target Kurdish Rebels

Attack inside northern Iraq the first since US invasion
Posted Dec 16, 2007 8:10 AM CST
Turkish Air Strikes Target Kurdish Rebels
Two Turkish soldiers patrol in an army vehicle on a road in the southeastern Turkish province of Sirnak, bordering Iraq, Thursday Nov. 8, 2007. A rebel Kurdish group in northern Iraq "must be eliminated," Turkey's premier said, accusing some European nations of not cooperating enough with Ankara's...   (Associated Press)

Turkey launched its first air strike since 2003 on Kurdish militants in northern Iraq early this morning, targeting a mountainous region near the Turkish border where the government says the PKK has its leadership council and camps. About 50 warplanes were used in the offensive, the AP reports, which lasted just over three hours.

Turkey insists rebels, not civilians, were the target, but an Iraqi official said the strikes hit far from rebel bases, killing one woman and wounding others in villages. Last month, President Bush promised to share US intel with Turkey about the PKK, declaring it a “common enemy.” (More Turkey stories.)

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