WASHINGTON, Dec 19, 2007 (AFP) - Turkey informed the United States well in
advance before launching weekend air raids into Iraqi Kurdistan against Kurdish
guerrilla bases, the Pentagon said Wednesday.
"We had ample notification of the air strikes by the Turkish Air Force against
PKK (Kurdish separatist group) positions in northern Iraq," spokesman Geoff
Morrell said, confirming for the first time that Washington knew of Ankara's
plans.
"It was communicated to us through the Ankara coordination center, this has been
opened for some months now, in which you have Turkish personnel along with US
military personnel working to share intelligence."
He told reporters the coordination had been "adequate" and said the Pentagon had
nothing to complain about.
Sunday's strikes were followed Tuesday by a small-scale ground operation in
which Turkish troops penetrated "several kilometers" into Southern Kurdistan
from the southeast Turkish-occupied Kurdistan province of Hakkari, the Turkish
military said on its website.
Turkish chief of staff General Yasar Buyukanit had said earlier in the week that
the United States gave the green light for Sunday's air raids by providing
"intelligence" and opening Iraqi airspace.
The PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) has said five of its members and two
civilians died in the bombing. Local officials said a woman was killed.
"We continue to be of course concerned by any potential loss of innocent lives
during these military operations and the potential impact it could have on Iraq
in terms of having a destabilizing influence but ... we all have concerns by the
terrorist threat posed by the PKK," Morrell added.
