TUNCELI, Turkey (Agencies)
Turkish warplanes bombed positions of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq on Saturday, the Turkish army said on its website.
"Turkish aircraft attacked between 1:35 pm and 2:00 pm (1125-1200 GMT) major positions of the terrorist organization" PKK, before Turkish artillery then bombarded them, a statement said.
The Turkish military said the offensive against the outlawed guerrillas inside Turkey and across the border in northern Iraq would continue.
"The PKK will understand through experience that northern Iraq is not a safe place and they will understand once again that they have no chance against the Turkish military," it said.
The statement added that actions over recent weeks had left "hundreds of terrorists" dead.
Jabbar Yawar, spokesman for the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga security force, confirmed the strikes.
"In the afternoon Turkish warplanes entered northern Iraqi airspace in an area called Al-Amadiyah. Later at around 4:00 pm they bombed Iraqi Kurdish villages. We do not know the extent of damages. But these areas are largely deserted and are along the border with Turkey," Yawar told AFP.
Turkey says it has the right to use force to combat separatist rebels who shelter in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq and mount attacks in which they have killed dozens of Turkish troops in recent months.
But the United States and the European Union fear a further escalation in tension could destabilize the region.
But NATO-member Turkey has stepped up its offensive against Kurdish guerrillas based in northern Iraq over the past week, launching two offensives, one involving 50 fighter jets on Dec. 16 and the other involving several hundred ground troops two days later.
U.S. intelligence shared with Turkey led to the Dec. 16 bombing raids, Turkey's ambassador to the United States said on Wednesday. |
