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TURKEY, IRAN DISCUSS COOPERATION AGAINST KURDISH REBELS
PanARMENIAN.Net
October 21, 2011 - 12:58 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey on Friday, October 21, sought Iran's support
for its fight against Kurdish rebels, as thousands of troops pressed
ahead with an air and ground offensive against militants in northern
Iraq for a third day.
According to AP, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met Iranian Foreign
Minister Ali Akbar Salehi in Ankara to discuss closer cooperation
against the rebels, who also have fought Iran.
Turkey and Iran have in the past staged coordinated attacks against
the main rebel base on Qandil Mountain, which sits on the Iraqi-Iranian
border.
About 10,000 Turkish troops were pursuing Kurdish rebels in
southeastern Turkey and across the border in Iraq since Wednesday
after 24 soldiers were killed by the rebels in the deadliest one-day
attacks against the military since the mid-1990s.
It was the nation's largest attack on the insurgents in more than three
years. The Turkish military said Friday that the offensive largely
concentrated against targets within Turkey but that a few targets
were under fire from the ground and air across the Iraqi border.
On Friday, warplanes flew several bombing sorties out of a military
base in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir, the state-run
TRT television said. The airstrikes were targeting rebel camps in
Zap and Hakurk areas as well as Qandil, it said.
Iraq on Thursday promised to stop the rebels from using Iraqi territory
for future attacks against Turkey. It was not clear if Iraqi Kurdish
forces in the north of the country will again assist Turkish troops
against the Turkish Kurdish rebels as they did in the early 1990s.
The Kurdish rebel attack has fueled nationalist sentiment in Turkey.
Tens of thousands of people, including high school students, took to
the streets in protest Thursday, calling for tougher action against
the rebels.
Turkey's conflict with the Kurdish rebels has killed tens of thousands
of people since the insurgents took up arms to fight for autonomy in
the country's Kurdish-dominated southeast in 1984.
PanARMENIAN.Net
October 21, 2011 - 12:58 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey on Friday, October 21, sought Iran's support
for its fight against Kurdish rebels, as thousands of troops pressed
ahead with an air and ground offensive against militants in northern
Iraq for a third day.
According to AP, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met Iranian Foreign
Minister Ali Akbar Salehi in Ankara to discuss closer cooperation
against the rebels, who also have fought Iran.
Turkey and Iran have in the past staged coordinated attacks against
the main rebel base on Qandil Mountain, which sits on the Iraqi-Iranian
border.
About 10,000 Turkish troops were pursuing Kurdish rebels in
southeastern Turkey and across the border in Iraq since Wednesday
after 24 soldiers were killed by the rebels in the deadliest one-day
attacks against the military since the mid-1990s.
It was the nation's largest attack on the insurgents in more than three
years. The Turkish military said Friday that the offensive largely
concentrated against targets within Turkey but that a few targets
were under fire from the ground and air across the Iraqi border.
On Friday, warplanes flew several bombing sorties out of a military
base in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir, the state-run
TRT television said. The airstrikes were targeting rebel camps in
Zap and Hakurk areas as well as Qandil, it said.
Iraq on Thursday promised to stop the rebels from using Iraqi territory
for future attacks against Turkey. It was not clear if Iraqi Kurdish
forces in the north of the country will again assist Turkish troops
against the Turkish Kurdish rebels as they did in the early 1990s.
The Kurdish rebel attack has fueled nationalist sentiment in Turkey.
Tens of thousands of people, including high school students, took to
the streets in protest Thursday, calling for tougher action against
the rebels.
Turkey's conflict with the Kurdish rebels has killed tens of thousands
of people since the insurgents took up arms to fight for autonomy in
the country's Kurdish-dominated southeast in 1984.