Turkish jets hit PKK in Iraq

DİYARBAKIR - Hürriyet Daily News

At least 12 F-16 fighter jets reportedly took off from the Diyarbakır base in southeastern Turkey on Oct 7 and targeted four camps in the Kandil Mountains and the surrounding area. DHA photo

Turkish jets bombed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) hideouts in northern Iraq overnight on Oct. 7, military sources told Agence France-Presse Oct. 8.

At least 12 F-16 fighter jets took off from the Diyarbakır base in southeastern Turkey and targeted four camps in the Kandil Mountains and the surrounding area, where the leadership of the outlawed PKK is believed to be hiding, the sources added. The latest operation comes after the Turkish government asked Parliament last week to renew the mandate for its armed forces to attack Kurdish bases in Iraq for another year, as clashes between the two sides have sharply escalated.

The PKK’s camps located on Kandil and Zap mountains were targeted in order to neutralize anti-aircraft batteries based there, according to Doğan news agency. The PKK’s field leaders, Murat Karayılan, Cemil Bayık and Duran Kalkan, are currently believed to be present in the camps, which have been heavily bombed by the Turkish Air Force, the Doğan report said.

Meanwhile, French police detained a suspected European leader and three other members of the PKK this weekend, judicial sources said. Police detained the alleged leader and another man in Paris on Oct. 6, while two others were detained Oct. 7 in the northwestern communes of Evron and Saint-Ouen-l’Aumone. The arrests were part of an investigation into alleged terrorism financing and association with a terrorist group that was launched in July, the judicial sources said.

Also, an explosion targeting a pipeline in eastern Turkey early on Oct. 8 has halted Iranian exports of natural gas to Turkey. The blast occurred at 4 a.m. near the town of Doğubeyazıt, in the eastern province of Ağrı, an official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. It was not immediately clear if the blast was caused by sabotage, and the official that said an investigation had been launched.

In another development, an 18-year-old villager was killed and one other was injured when a mine, reportedly placed by suspected members of the PKK, exploded in the eastern province of Şırnak’s Uludere district. Nizar Babat, 18, died in the incident, while village guard Hasan Babat was severely injured as they traveled on the road where the mine had been placed.