Jim's Military News: Ankara

Showing posts with label Ankara. Show all posts

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Bombs Near Turkish-Syrian Border Kill 40

5/12/2013 11:41:00 AM SgtJim No Comments yet, your thoughts are welcome

People carry injured people from one of explosion sites after several explosions killed at least 40 people and injured dozens in Reyhanli, near Turkey's border with Syria, May 11, 2013.

ISTANBUL — Twin car bombs in a Turkish town near the Syrian border have killed at least 40 people and wounded more than 100 others, and top Turkish officials are pointing fingers at the Syrian government.

Turkey's interior minister, Muammar Guler, said car bombs went off in the town of Reyhanli, just a few kilometers from a Syrian border crossing. Massive explosions devastated nearby buiildings, and ambulances rushed to the site Saturday to treat scores of victims.

Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was "the usual suspect" in the attacks, particularly because Syrians taking refuge from the civil war in Turkey's Hatay province clearly "have become targets" for the regime in Damascus.

No one claimed responsibility for the carnage, nor was there any comment on the explosions from authorities in the Syrian capital.

In addition to tensions involving Syria, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan indicated the blasts also may have been related to his government's peace talks with Kurdish rebels, an effort aimed at ending nearly 30 years of conflict.

Erdogan said "Hatay is also a very sensitive province," home to 20,000 to 25,000 refugees. "There may be those who want to agitate these sensitivities," he said.

Turkey has harshly cricitized Syria's President Assad throughout the course of the civil war there. Two years of bloodshed in Syria are believed to have killed about 70,000 people and have made hundreds of thousands of civilians homeless.

The U.S. embassy in Ankara condemned the attack in Turkey Saturday and vowed to stand with authorities in Ankara to "identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice."

from VOA News
by Dorian Jones
May 11, 2013

PKK commander announces withdrawal from Turkey in May

4/25/2013 07:49:00 PM SgtJim No Comments yet, your thoughts are welcome

Kurdistan Workers' Party soldiers, commonly known as PKK near the Iran/Iraqi Kurdistan border (Photo credit: james_gordon_losangeles)

ANKARA, April 25 (Xinhua) -- The outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) will begin withdrawing from Turkish territory on May 8, a senior leader at the PKK's base in the Kandil Mountains in northern Iraq announced Thursday, according to Turkish media.

The withdrawal, to be in phases, will be finalized "as soon as possible" and in secrecy, Murat Karayilan said at a press conference in his base, which shelters nearly 5,000 militants.

The PKK militants will be relocated in northern Iraq, and use their usual route during the withdrawal in an organized and disciplined way to avoid any clashes, he said, adding that any military operations against the militants could delay the pullout and cause PKK's retaliation.

Time of clashes in the Middle East has ended, the PKK commander said.

Ankara has been holding peace negotiations with Abdullah Ocalan, imprisoned leader of the PKK, since last October. Turkey insisted that the PKK must first lay down their arms and leave the Turkish territory.

On March 21, Ocalan finally made a historic call for PKK's ceasefire and withdrawal, which was positively responded by his militant group.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey and part of the international community, took up arms in 1984 in an attempt to create an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey. Since then, some 40,000 people have been killed in conflicts involving the group.

from XINHUA
2013-04-25 21:04:49

Al-Qaeda members detained in Istanbul

2/28/2013 02:42:00 PM SgtJim No Comments yet, your thoughts are welcome

Attack against U.S. Embassy in Ankara

Al-Qaeda members detained in Istanbul, planned to attack synagogues and churches: report

11 al-Qaeda members have been detained in Istanbul following a raid by Turkey’s special forces, reported Sabah newspaper on Thursday.

The terrorists reportedly planned to launch attacks on the U.S. embassy in Turkey in addition to a number of synagogues and churches in the country.

Some 22 kilograms of explosives, five guns and five handguns were seized from the detained terrorists.

A full investigation is yet to be launched.

February saw an attack take place against the U.S. embassy in Ankara. The explosion, which took place on Feb. 1, killed an embassy security guard and left one visitor injured.

The leader of the subversive operation, a member of the Marxist terrorist group Turkish People’s Liberation Party-Front, Ecevit Shanli was also killed.

from AL ARABIYA
Last Updated: Thu Feb 28, 2013 13:21 pm (KSA) 10:21 am (GMT)

Turkish jets strike Kurd rebels in Iraq: military source

2/22/2013 12:48:00 PM SgtJim No Comments yet, your thoughts are welcome

English: Members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (Kurdish Partiya Karkerên, PKK) in Kurdistant/Iraq Kurdî / كوردی: Gerîlayên Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê (PKK) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Turkey sent jets across its border with Iraq to strike separatists from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a local military source said Thursday.
The jets bombed 12 targets in the Kandil Mountains in the autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq on Wednesday, the source told AFP without providing any casualty figures.

Pro-Kurdish Firat News Agency confirmed the raid, saying it targeted two villages and destroyed many farms and orchards.

The raid comes amid nascent peace talks between Ankara and PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who is serving a life sentence in prison.

Turkey hopes the talks will yield a ceasefire and eventually bring an end to the almost three-decade Kurdish insurgency for self-rule in the southeast.

Last month, the Turkish army said it killed 14 rebels in the southeastern city of Hakkari as they were preparing to ambush a border post. A Turkish soldier was also killed in the ensuing shootout.

Ankara says the rebels use their hideouts in northern Iraq, where the PKK command is also located, to infiltrate Turkey for hit-and-run attacks on security forces.

Around 45,000 people are believed to have been killed in 29 years of fighting between Turkish security forces and the PKK, which took up arms in 1984.

from AL ARABIYA
Last Updated: Thu Feb 21, 2013 21:36 pm (KSA) 18:36 pm (GMT)

Two guards killed in blast outside U.S. embassy in Ankara

2/01/2013 03:48:00 PM SgtJim No Comments yet, your thoughts are welcome

People stand outside the entrance of the U.S. embassy in Ankara on February 1, 2013 after a blast killed two security guards and wounded several other people. (AFP)

Two security guards were killed in a blast outside the U.S. embassy in Ankara on Friday, local television reported, amid speculation it was a suicide attack.
The force of the explosion damaged nearby buildings in the Cankaya neighborhood where many other state institutions and embassies are also located.

NTV television reported that a person detonated a bomb at the security roadblock near the entrance to the embassy’s visa section, where dozens of people wait every day.

“It was a huge explosion. I was sitting in my shop when it happened. I saw what looked like a body part on the ground,” said travel agent Kamiyar Barnos whose shop window was shattered around 100 meters away from the blast.

Police have cordoned off the area but there has been no official comment on the blast outside the highly fortified complex.

NTV television said two security guards were killed and several people wounded.

U.S. embassy staff were not immediately reachable for comment.

By Al Arabiya with agencies
Last Updated: Fri Feb 01, 2013 15:52 pm (KSA) 12:52 pm (GMT)

Turkish security forces kill 14 PKK members in southeast

11/09/2012 11:59:00 AM SgtJim No Comments yet, your thoughts are welcome

Districts of Hakkâri province (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

ANKARA, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- A total of 14 militants of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) were killed in clashes with security forces in southeastern Turkey on Thursday, an official statement said Friday.

Acting on a tip-off by local residents, the Turkish security forces launched an operation against a group of PKK members in Semdinli town of Hakkari province, said the statement released by the governor's office.

The security forces initially demanded the PKK rebels surrender but the militants opened fire on the troops in response, the statement said.

An air strike was conducted against the PKK militants after unmanned aerial vehicles detected their positions, according to the statement, which said 14 PKK militants were killed in the operation.

Listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, the PKK took up arms in 1984 in an attempt to create an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey. Some 40,000 people have been killed in conflicts fuelled by PKK's separatist campaign in Turkey

from XINHUA
2012-11-09 16:12:55

Turkey hits targets inside Syria after border deaths

10/04/2012 05:17:00 PM SgtJim No Comments yet, your thoughts are welcome

Turkish artillery has renewed firing at targets in Syria after shells from across the border on Wednesday killed five Turkish nationals.

Several Syrian troops were killed by Turkish fire, activists from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Turkey's border town of Akcakale was shelled, apparently by Syrian government forces, on Wednesday, killing a woman and three children.

The UN Security Council is due to meet later to condemn Syria's actions.

Ankara's response marks the first time it has fired into Syria during the 18-month-long unrest there.

Turkey also asked the UN Security Council to take "necessary action" to stop Syrian "aggression".

Meanwhile, Nato envoys held an urgent meeting in Brussels at the request of Turkey, who is a member of the military alliance.

The bloc issued a statement saying it "continues to stand by Turkey and demands the immediate cessation of such aggressive acts against an ally, and urges the Syrian regime to put an end to flagrant violations of international law".

The government in Ankara is expected to ask parliament shortly to authorise cross-border military operations in Syria, Turkish media report.

The Turkish armed forces have in the past moved into northern Iraq in pursuit of Kurdish militants who had bases there.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19822253

from BBC
4 October 2012 Last updated at 07:57 GMT

18 PKK members killed in military operations in southeast Turkey

9/07/2012 11:43:00 AM SgtJim No Comments yet, your thoughts are welcome

Shows the location of the Şırnak province in Turkey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

ANKARA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Turkish security forces killed 18 members of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) in military operations in Beytussebap town of southeastern province of Sirnak, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported on Friday.

Turkish officials were quoted as saying that military operations have been ongoing in the region after simultaneous PKK attacks on military checkpoints in Beytussebap that killed 10 Turkish soldiers on September 2.

Sirnak governor's office said that one Turkish soldier was killed in clashes with PKK militants in the region early on Friday.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, took up arms in 1984 in an attempt to create an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey. Since then, over 40,000 people have been killed in conflicts involving the group.

from XINHUA
2012-09-07 16:23:01

Car bomb kills 9, injures 68 in SE Turkey

8/21/2012 12:30:00 PM SgtJim No Comments yet, your thoughts are welcome

Districts of Gaziantep (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

ANKARA, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- The car bomb hit a police station late Monday in Turkey's southeastern Gaziantep province has killed nine and wounded 68 others, local Hurriyet Daily News reported Tuesday.

Unknown militants remotely detonated the explosives laden in a car on Monday evening after parking the car at a bus stop near Karsiyaka Police Station in Sehitkamil district of Gaziantep province, the report said.

Two buses and one car were set ablaze and nine people were killed, the report said, adding that paramedics were immediately dispatched to the scene and tens of wounded were taken to hospitals.

Security forces have launched an investigation to apprehend the militants.

Earlier figures from the Gaziantep Governor's office said at least eight people were killed and 60 others injured.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the blast.

Some government officials said the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) are behind the deadly attack. But the group said in a statement on Tuesday that they are not responsible for the blast.

from XINHUA
2012-08-21 16:14:19

One soldier killed, 3 wounded in clashes with PKK in east Turkey

7/19/2012 05:58:00 PM SgtJim No Comments yet, your thoughts are welcome

Location of Gürpınar (District), Van within Turkey. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

ANKARA, July 18 (Xinhua) -- One soldier of the Turkish security forces was confirmed dead and three others were wounded in clashes with members of the banned Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) in eastern Turkey on Wednesday, local Dogan News Agency reported.

A group of PKK members opened fire Wednesday afternoon when the security forces were on duty in Elacmaz village of Gurpinar town in Van province, leaving one soldier dead and three others injured, said the report.

Security forces were sent to capture the PKK members who escaped from the scene, according to the report.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, took up arms in 1984 in an attempt to create an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey. Since then over 40,000 people have been killed in conflicts involving the group.

from XINHUA
2012-07-19 08:01:16

Deadly 'suicide bomb' outside Turkish police station

5/25/2012 12:46:00 PM SgtJim No Comments yet, your thoughts are welcome

A policeman has been killed in a suspected suicide bombing outside a police station in the central Turkish province of Kayseri.

Two attackers, who also died, tried to ram a car into the building in the town of Pinarbasi, Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin said.

A bomb in the vehicle went off shortly after clashes with security guards.

Ten civilians and another police officer were also injured, some seriously, Mr Sahin added.

Some of the people who were hurt were the children of officers staying in nearby police lodgings, he said.

He also described how the car had earlier sped through a police check point 90km (55 miles) away in neighbouring Kahramanmaras province, ignoring police calls to stop.

Television footage showed frantic scenes outside the police station, with fire engines and ambulances on site. Local media described an exchange of gunfire just before the bomb exploded.

It is not clear if the device was detonated deliberately or as a result of the shooting.

Hasan Gumus, a civil servant who was working near the scene, said he and his colleagues had heard a "huge blast".

"We saw a big cloud of smoke rising," he told Reuters news agency.

Kayseri province is in the centre of Turkey, about 325km from the capital, Ankara.

Nobody has so far claimed responsibility for the bombing. But in an apparent reference to the separatist Kurdish PKK movement, Mr Sahin said: "The crazy attacks of the terrorist organization are continuing."

Clashes between the PKK and the Turkish armed forces have increased in south-eastern Turkey over the past year, and the PKK has in the past carried out bombings in other parts of the country.

In September a powerful bomb in Ankara killed three people and wounded 15. That blast was blamed on the PKK.

from BBC

Turkish jets strike north Iraq: rebels

3/10/2012 06:03:00 PM SgtJim No Comments yet, your thoughts are welcome

Arbil, Iraq: A Kurdish rebel group said on Friday that Turkey's air force carried out air strikes on border areas of north Iraq, but gave no details about casualties or damage.

"On March 8, between 6:00 pm (1500 GMT) and 8:00 pm (1700 GMT), F-16 jet fighters belonging to the occupation army of Turkey launched air raids" against the Jabal Mattine area, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) said in a statement.

It gave no further details.

The air strikes were the first reported raids in around a month on north Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, where the PKK maintains rear bases.

Fighting between Turkish forces and PKK rebels has escalated in recent months.

In October, Turkey launched a major air and land offensive against the rebels in the southeast of the country and in neighbouring northern Iraq after 24 of its troops were killed in a night-time ambush by rebels.

The PKK took up arms in Kurdish-majority southeastern Turkey in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed about 45,000 lives. It is labelled a terrorist outfit by Ankara and much of the international community.

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Mar-09/166120-turkish-jets-strike-north-iraq-rebels.ashx#ixzz1ojZ9nCwd
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)