Kurdish guerrillas

8 Stories

Lawmaker's Kidnapping Roils Turkey

Huseyin Aygun is first lawmaker to be taken by Kurdish rebels

(Newser) - Turkish troops launched a search yesterday for a lawmaker kidnapped by Kurdish rebels near the eastern city of Tunceli, authorities and the lawmaker's party said. Huseyin Aygun, from the main opposition Republican People's Party, was abducted last night at a roadblock between the town of Ovacik and Tunceli;...

Turkey Kills 35 Civilians in Attempted Hit on Rebels

Kurdish officials claim the dead were actually teen cigarette smugglers

(Newser) - Turkey's air force attacked suspected Kurdish rebel targets across the border in Iraq, but the roughly 35 people killed were teenage smugglers mistaken for guerrillas. A ruling party spokesman said today the victims "were not terrorists," but people smuggling cigarettes into Turkey from Iraq. He added that...

In Pursuit of Kurdish Rebels, Turkey Invades Iraq

Troops cross border after PKK attacks kill 26 soldiers

(Newser) - Turkey sent troops, air force bombers, and helicopter gunships across the border into Iraq today in pursuit of Kurdish rebels, after a series of PKK attacks left 26 Turkish soldiers dead and 22 wounded, according to Turkish television reports. Though Turkish authorities haven’t confirmed the incursion, the chief of...

Turkey Gives No Timetable on Iraq Withdrawal

US, Iraq want quick end to incursion aimed at Kurd rebels

(Newser) - Despite mounting casualties and outside pressure, Turkey said today it would not give a timetable on pulling back troops from an offensive against Kurdish rebels in Iraq, Reuters reports. Turkish soldiers have killed 230 PKK guerillas since the conflict began, and lost 24 of their own. Iraqi and US officials...

10,000 Turkish Troops Enter Iraq
10,000 Turkish Troops Enter Iraq
Feb 22, 2008 5:57 AM CST

10,000 Turkish Troops Enter Iraq

Ground offensive marks major escalation in fight with Kurd separatists

(Newser) - Turkey has sent 10,000 troops over the border into northern Iraq to hunt down militants of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, marking the first major ground incursion into the country since 1997, reports Bloomberg. The Turkish military said that the action began last evening, and local television is reporting that...

Turkish Air Strikes Target Kurdish Rebels

Attack inside northern Iraq the first since US invasion

(Newser) - Turkey launched its first air strike since 2003 on Kurdish militants in northern Iraq early this morning, targeting a mountainous region near the Turkish border where the government says the PKK has its leadership council and camps. About 50 warplanes were used in the offensive, the AP reports, which lasted...

Turkey Claims Strike on Iraqi Kurds

Rebels deny report, and Washington claims ignorance

(Newser) - Turkey launched an “intense intervention” in Northern Iraq today, inflicting losses on PKK fighters—at least according to Ankara. A PKK official denies the strike, and Washington claims ignorance, Reuters reports. But Turkey says that its artillery, helicopters, and special forces struck a Kurdish base with 50-60 militants. "...

Turkish Gunships Strike Kurdish Outpost in Iraq

Turkish Prime Minister warned a strike was 'nearing'

(Newser) - Turkish helicopter gunships have struck a suspected Kurdish guerrilla base inside the Iraqi border, AP is reporting. Turks targeted an area near the town of Zakho before dawn today. Iraqi officials said there were no casualties in the attacks on what they characterized as "abandoned villages"  that housed...

8 Stories