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."
PHOTO: AFP
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.
Australians were downloading virtual private networks (VPNs) in droves, while one of the world’s largest porn distributors said it was blocking users from its platforms as the country yesterday rolled out sweeping online age restriction. Australia in December became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on teenagers using social media. A separate law now requires artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot services to keep certain content — including pornography, extreme violence and self-harm and eating disorder material — from minors or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$34.6 million). The country also joined Britain, France and dozens of US states requiring
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
MORE BANS: Australia last year required sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, with a few countries pushing for similar action at an EU level and India considering its own ban Indonesia on Friday said it would ban social media access for children under 16, citing threats from online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and Internet addiction. “Accounts belonging to children under 16 on high-risk platforms will start to be deactivated, beginning with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox,” Indonesian Minister of Communications and Digital Meutya Hafid said. “The government is stepping in so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm. Implementation will begin on March 28, 2026,” she said. The social media ban would be introduced in stages “until all platforms fulfill their
RSS