Turkish jets strike Kurd rebels in Iraq: military source

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)

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Turkish security forces kill 14 PKK members in southeast

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

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• 13 Kurd rebels, soldier killed in Turkey unrest: sources (dailystar.com.lb)
• Turkish security forces kill 14 PKK members in southeast (nzweek.com)

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Kurd militants kill 7 Turkish soldiers in convoy attack

(Reuters) - Kurdish militants fired rockets at a military convoy in eastern Turkey on Tuesday, killing seven soldiers and wounding more than 60, security sources said, in a further sign that the conflict in the region is deepening.

The convoy was travelling between the provinces of Bingol and Mus when it was hit by a rocket launched by members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the sources said.

The PKK is considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and European Union. It took up arms in 1984 with the aim of carving out a Kurdish state in the east of Turkey. The conflict has since killed more than 40,000 people.

Footage aired by Turkey's Dogan news agency on its website showed fire-fighters around the smouldering shell of a bus on a mountainous road.

Two F-16 fighter jets took off from an air base in the south-eastern city of Diyarbakir after the attack, a Reuters witness said. Their destination was unclear.

Recent months have seen some of the deadliest fighting in more than a decade. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday some 500 militants had been "rendered ineffective" - killed, wounded, or captured - in the last month alone.

Fighter jets and attack helicopters have bombarded PKK camps in the south-eastern border region with Iraq, and Turkey's chief of staff and other military commanders travelled to the region last week to oversee operations.

Eight police officers were killed on Sunday when a roadside mine exploded in the Karliova district of Bingol and on Saturday suspected PKK fighters killed four Turkish soldiers in an attack on a convoy near the border with Iran and Iraq.

As well as the human toll, the conflict has hampered economic development in one of Turkey's poorest corners and worsened instability in the region bordering Iran, Iraq and Syria.

More than 700 people have been killed since a parliamentary election in June last year, making this the deadliest period since the capture of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in 1999, the International Crisis Group said in a report this month.

from REUTERS
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey | Tue Sep 18, 2012 2:21pm BST
(Reporting by Seyhmus Cakan; Writing by Ece Toksabay; Editing by Nick Tattersall and Mark Heinrich)

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Car bomb kills 9, injures 68 in SE Turkey

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

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

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

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6 PKK members killed in clashes with security forces in southeastern Turkey

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

ANKARA, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Six members of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) were killed in clashes with security forces in Turkey's southeastern region, private Dogan news agency reported Thursday.

The clashes erupted Wednesday between PKK members and security forces on Mount Cudi in Silop town of Sirnak province, leaving six PKK members killed, said the report.

Six Turkish security personnel were also killed and 10 others wounded in the clashes, added the report.

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

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