Turkey in new Iraq air strike
Wednesday, 26 Dec 2007 12:27
The air strike in northern Iraq took place in the morning today
Turkey has confirmed launching a new air strike in northern Iraq today against rebels from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
The morning raid is the third in the last two weeks and follows the deployment of ground troops across the border to fight the PKK – who are seeking greater autonomy for the region's Kurdish population.
A statement from the Turkish armed forces said the strikes aimed to prevent militants from seeking refuge in caves and hideouts in the region during the winter. It has not released information about any casualties in today's operation.
On Tuesday, the Turkish military said it had killed over a hundred members of the PKK, which has been declared a terrorist group by the US and
European Union, and destroyed many hideouts used by the group.
The region's president Massoud Barzani has called for an end to the raids saying that many Iraqi civilians had died as a result of the air strikes.
The country's parliament has passed a law permitting the armed forces to take action against the group in its neighbouring country. Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly defended his government's decision to conduct the cross-border action.