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| Europe |
| Turkey: Iranian soldiers shell southeast |
| 2009-05-13 |
| [ADN Kronos] Five mortar shells landed in Turkey's southeast corner Monday after Iranian soldiers bombed Kurdish rebels positions in northern Iraq, a security source said. The soldiers were reported to have opened fire on a breakaway faction of the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). "We received the information that five shells fell on the Turkish side of the border," an official at the governor's office in the province of Hakkari told the media. According to reports published in the Turkish media, the shells landed in a remote rural area near the town of Yuksekova in Hakkari province which borders both Iran and Iraq. The residents of Saridere in the southeastern province of Hakkari abandoned their homes after shells fell within 500 metres of the village, Dogan News Agency (DHA) said. There were no injuries and it was not immediately clear how many shells landed in Turkey. The incident apparently occurred after Iranian security forces opened fire on positions of the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), an Iranian Kurdish separatist group which has launched attacks on Iran from bases in the mountains of northern Iraq. Turkish soldiers were investigating the incidents on their side of the border while Iranian forces were carrying out a similar probe on their side, the source said. PJAK is closely allied with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which also uses northern Iraq to launch similar attacks against Turkey in its 24-year campaign for a separate independent state. The Turkish army also carries out air raids against PKK positions in the Kurdish-held enclave or targets the rebels with artillery. Iran urged neighbouring Iraq on Monday to "pay special attention" to terrorist groups operating in its border areas, a week after Baghdad condemned the Iranian bombing of bases of the PJAK in northern Iraq. Iran has neither confirmed nor denied reports its forces had bombed targets inside Iraqi territory. |
| Posted by:Fred |