Turkish Planes Strike Kurdish Rebel Targets in Northern Iraq

FOX News ^ | February 04, 2008 | AP

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ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish warplanes attacked dozens of Kurdish rebel targets in Iraq on Monday as part of a U.S.-backed campaign to chip away at guerrilla strength while avoiding the risks of a ground-based offensive across the border.

The planes hit 70 targets that were "detected and verified by intelligence sources," the Turkish military said in a possible reference to the U.S. intelligence it is receiving.

The Turkish government has fought for more than two decades against Kurdish rebels who seek autonomy in southeastern Turkey. For years, the PKK rebel group has launched attacks into Turkish territory from virtual safe havens in northern Iraq.

The warplanes hit PKK targets in the Avasin-Basyan and Hakurk regions of northern Iraq during a 12-hour operation, the military said on its Web site. "Utmost sensitivity was shown so that the civilian population in the region was not affected," it said.

The reference to civilians reflected a desire to avoid a wider conflict with Iraq's central government or with Iraqi Kurds who suspect Turkey wants to undermine their own separatist tendencies. Washington has pressed Turkey, a NATO ally, to act with relative restraint so that peaceful areas of northern Iraq do not succumb to the upheaval experienced elsewhere in the country.

Turkey has confirmed a total of five aerial attacks inside Iraq since Dec. 16, though Iraqi Kurdish officials have reported other airstrikes.

Turkey's military says its raids have inflicted heavy losses on the PKK, killing up to 175 rebels and destroying command and logistic centers, shelters, and ammunition depots. PKK officials have disputed claims that their operations have been thrown into disarray, and military analysts have speculated that guerrillas dispersed months ago as airstrikes loomed.

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