Military activity on border, Diyabakir air base
(24 Dec 2007) Yuksekova 1. Turkish troops walking past army truck 2. Truck driving on border 3. Troops walking along border with metal detector 4. Troops walking along border 5. A truck and van driving along border 6. Wide of back of truck with troops sitting in it 7. Wide, zoom in to military truck driving on border and troops walking along 8. Various of troops walking along border with metal detector Diyarbakir 9. Various of Diyarbakir airbase STORYLINE: Turkish army soldiers patrolled roads and highways in Yuksekova region of southeastern Turkey, near the northern Iraqi border on Monday, as reports said that Turkish fighter jets had bombed Kurdish rebels. Footage shot by AP Television on Monday showed troops walking in the border area, some with metal detectors. Meanwhile, a spokesman for Iraqi Kurdistan's Peshmerga security forces said Turkish fighter jets have bombed Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq. He said the jets bombed an area about 85 kilometres (about 50 miles) north of Irbil near the border with Turkey on Sunday for about an hour and a half. He said there were no civilian casualties because the area was deserted due to a fear of Turkish attacks. The official said he did not know whether any Kurdish rebels had been killed. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan referred questions to the General Staff, but military authorities were not immediately available to discuss any military operations on Sunday. The U.S. ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker said before Sunday's attack that the U.S. acknowledges Turkey's right to defend itself but asked the U.S. ally and NATO member not to endanger Iraq's stability. On Saturday, Turkey staged its third cross-border operation against rebels in neighbouring Iraq in less than a week. The pro-Kurdish news agency Firat said the rebels did not suffer any casualties in Saturday's attack. The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, has fought for autonomy in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast since 1984. The group is considered a terror organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. After a surge in attacks by the rebels, some of whom are based in northern Iraq, Turkey said it would tolerate no more Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK attacks. The Parliament voted to allow the military to strike rebel hideouts and camps across the Iraqi border. The U.S. and Iraq have asked Turkey to show restraint in its response to the rebels, fearing that a large Turkish incursion could destabilise what has been Iraq's most stable area. On Saturday, Turkish jets bombed rebel targets inside Iraq for half an hour, following up by shelling the area from inside Turkish border. It was the third confirmed cross-border operation in less than a week by the Turkish forces. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
