KurdistanObserver.com
Turkey Fires On Iraqi Kurdistan-Based Guerrilla
Associated Press Writer
Dec 1, 2007
The Turkish military said Saturday it attacked 50 to 60
Kurdish guerrilla inside Iraqi Kurdistan territory, inflicting "significant
losses."
It did not say whether Turkish troops had crossed into Iraqi Kurdistan for the
operation. The U.S. military said it had no reports of a Turkish incursion
across the Iraqi Kurdistan border.
An Iraqi Kurdish official and a PKK official denied there had been an attack.
But a pro-Kurdish news agency said there had been shelling.
The military said on its Web site that the rebels were detected following
intelligence work and that military operations in the region would continue if
necessary.
The attack came a day after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the
government had authorized the military to launch a cross-border offensive
against Kurdish forces based in Southern Kurdistan at any time.
The military said the attack occurred "inside Iraqi borders," near the town of
Cukurca in Hakkari province. Hakkari, where rebels are active.
It was not clear from the statement whether the Turks fired from the Turkish or
Iraqi side of the border.
Firat, a pro-Kurdish news agency, reported that Turkish army units shelled the
Dola Mir and Dola Merge areas in Iraqi Kurdistan on Saturday. A Firat reporter
said the areas are across the border from Cukurca.
"No pinpoint operation or military movement was observed after the shelling that
lasted nearly two hours," Firat said, citing Iraqi Kurdish officials.
Jamal Abdullah, a spokesman for the government of Iraqi Kurdistan, denied there
had been any clashes, shelling or Turkish incursion into Iraqi Kurdistan.
"There isn't any Turkish military operation inside Iraqi Kurdistan territory.
The situation is calm," he said.
A senior PKK official who refused to give his name also denied any fighting.
"There aren't any clashes between us and the Turkish side inside Southern
Kurdistan territories, neither artillery bombardments nor jets shooting," he
said.
