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Over 150 PKK rebels killed
25/12/2007 17:39 - (SA)
Ankara - Between 150 and 175 Kurdish rebels were killed in a Turkish air strike in northern Iraq on December 16, the Turkish military said on Tuesday.
"It is understood that between 150 and 175 terrorists... were rendered ineffective," the general staff said in a statement on its website.
"The figure does not include the terrorists who were rendered ineffective as a result of hide-outs or caves collapsing in the air raid," it said.
"It has been determined that many terrorists were also taken to hospitals in Arbil, Raniyah, Kaladiza and Choman in the north of Iraq," it added.
The December 16 bombing targeted positions in northern Iraq along the Turkish border and the Qandil mountains to the east. OK by Parliament
It was the first Turkish air strike against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) targets in the region since Parliament authorised in October cross-border military action against the rebel group.
It was followed by a second air raid on December 22, which the army said on Tuesday targeted "hideouts and anti-aircraft positions belonging to the PKK".
Since then, officials in northern Iraq have reported two other Turkish air raids, including a brief one on Tuesday, which the Turkish army has not confirmed.
The December 16 strike, which was the largest and was backed by artillery fire on the ground, destroyed all of its targets, Tuesday's statement said.
They included 16 command, training and logistical bases as well as 182 hideouts, 10 anti-aircraft defence positions and 14 ammunition depots of the PKK, the statement said.
- AFP
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