Turkish jets bomb Kurd bases in nor

[kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu]

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.cic.net>
Subject: Turkish jets bomb Kurd bases in north Iraq

Turkish jets bomb Kurd bases in north Iraq, report

    ANKARA, July 25 (Reuter) - Turkish air force planes bombed
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrilla camps in northern Iraq
on Thursday, the state-run Anatolian news agency said.
    It said jets from air bases in the eastern Turkish cities of
Diyarbakir and Malatya hit five rebel camps in the mountains of
northern Iraq.
    ``The separatist terrorist organisation suffered heavy
losses,'' the agency said but it gave no casualty figures.
    Turkish planes and troops often strike across the border at
the PKK, which uses camps in northern Iraq in its fight for
autonomy or independence in southeast Turkey.
    A Western allied air force based in Turkey has protected the
Kurds of northern Iraq from possible attack by Baghdad since
shortly after the end of the Gulf War in 1991.
    Turkish MPs, many of whom say the U.S.-led force
inadvertently helps the PKK establish itself in northern Iraq,
must vote by the end of this month on whether to extend the
allies' mandate.
    An Iraqi Kurdish group said on Wednesday that Turkish air
force planes had bombed Iraqi Kurdish settlements in northern
Iraq, demolishing many houses.

Reut09:37 07-25-96