KurdistanObserver.com
Roadside Bomb Kills 3 Turks, a Major, a
lieutenant, a Private
The Associated Press
Saturday, June 9, 2007
ISTANBUL, Turkey: A remote controlled roadside
bomb exploded late Saturday, killing three Turkish soldiers and wounding four
others in the country's turbulent southeast, authorities said.
The bomb, believed to have been planted by Kurdish rebels near the southeastern
city of Sirnak, went off as a military vehicle was returning from an operation,
killing a major, a lieutenant colonel and a private, a local official said.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity, citing regulations that Turkish
civil servants are not allowed to speak to the press without prior
authorization.
The major and lieutenant colonel were the highest ranking officers killed
recently in clashes with rebels active in Turkey's southeast along its border
with Iraq.
The roadside bombing came the day after Turkish Army declared its "unshakable
determination" to defeat Kurdish rebels. Earlier this week, a similar bomb
claimed lives of four troops.
Turkey is increasingly frustrated with the surge in attacks by the Kurdish
guerrillas and has been building up its forces near the Iraqi border, raising
fears it might stage a cross-border operation.
Military and political leaders have been debating whether a large scale attack
would strain Turkey's ties with the United States and European Union.
The U.S. has warned against such an incursion, fearing it might drag northern
Iraq, the relatively stable part of the war-torn country, into chaos. Turkish
military has shelled suspected rebel bases in Iraq's north this week.
Earlier Saturday, Iraqi Foreign Ministry said it summoned the top Turkish
diplomat in Baghdad and called for an immediate halt to the shelling, saying
such actions "undermine confidence between the two nations and negatively affect
their friendship."
The province of Sirnak, where the bombing took place is inside one of the three
"security zones" Turkish Army declared near the Iraqi border.
