Turkey 'shells border area in Iraq'

Press TV
Sunday June 3, 2007 

Turkish military has allegedly shelled a border area in northern Iraq, targeting Kurdish separatist rebels' bases in the area.

Citing the Kurdish rebel group PKK, the Belgium based Firat news agency said Turkish artillery targeted the Hakurk area in northern Iraq early Sunday but no casualties were reported. According to the Associated Press news agency, Firat did not name its source in the rebel group. Turkish authorities were not immediately available to comment.

Kurdish guerrillas have long had camps in the Hakurk area, 15 kilometers from the Turkish border. Turkish troops have occasionally launched brief raids in pursuit of guerrillas in northern Iraq, and have sometimes shelled suspected rebel positions across the border.

Turkish authorities rarely acknowledge such military operations, which were more frequent before the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Turkey has been building up its military forces on the Iraqi border in recent weeks, amid debate among political and military leaders about whether to attack separatist rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party. The rebels stage raids in southeast Turkey after crossing over from hideouts in Iraq.

Reader Comments Print Friendly Page Yahoo! MyWeb Del.icio.us Digg Reddit Email This Page to: INFOWARS: BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND