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Turkey extends gratitude to US for intelligence

Turkish soldiers patrol on a road near Yuksekova, southeastern Turkey, near the border with Iraq, on Wednesday. PHOTO: AFP

Turkey praised the US on Wednesday for providing intelligence in support of attacks against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, as it confirmed its third such air strike in 10 days.

"Things are going on well at the moment. Intelligence is being shared" between the NATO allies, Anatolia news agency quoted President Abdullah Gul as saying.

US support "befits our alliance," Gul said, adding: "Both of us are satisfied. This is how it should be. We could have come to this point earlier."

But the White House expressed concern to Ankara over the possible escalation of Turkey's attacks inside Iraq, especially "anything that could lead to ... civilian casualties," spokesman Scott Stanzel said.

Wednesday's air strike was the third against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) targets in northern Iraq that the military has confirmed since Dec. 16, in addition to a cross-border ground operation.

The raid followed intelligence that "a large group of terrorists, who have been watched for a long time, are preparing to pass the winter in eight caves and hideouts in the Zap region," the general staff said in a statement.

"Our warplanes hit the targets in an effective air raid that started in the morning hours of Dec. 26," it said, without mentioning casualties.

Officials in Kurdish-run northern Iraq said the strike targeted deserted villages along the border, but the extent of the damage was not known.

The aircraft struck an area called Nirvorokan in Dohuk province at around 8:30am, they said, while a news agency close to the PKK reported that some 10 warplanes took part in the raid.

Iraqi Kurds have reported two other air strikes this month that Turkey has not confirmed, including a brief one on Tuesday.

The general staff said six PKK militants were killed Wednesday in mountains inside Turkey near the Iraqi frontier, bringing to 11 the death toll from a two-day security operation in the area. Two rebels were captured.

Faced with mounting PKK violence and exasperated by the safe haven which Ankara says the rebels enjoy in northern Iraq, the government secured in October a one-year parliamentary authorization for cross-border strikes.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and much of the international community, has waged a bloody campaign for Kurdish self-rule in southeast Turkey since 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives.

Ankara says an estimated 3,500 PKK militants have taken refuge in northern Iraq, using camps there as a springboard for attacks across the border.

The Pentagon said last week a center was set up in Ankara where Turkish and US officials are working to share intelligence.
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