Kurdish Militants

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Apparent Execution in Paris as 3 Kurd Activists Shot

One victim is top militant Sakine Cansiz

(Newser) - Three Kurdish women were found dead at a Paris pro-Kurdish center early today, and France's interior minister is calling it an execution. The three activists were shot; local media reported they were shot in the head, but police would not confirm that, the AP reports. One of the victims...

Lawmaker's Kidnapping Roils Turkey

Huseyin Aygun is first lawmaker to be taken by Kurdish rebels

(Newser) - Turkish troops launched a search yesterday for a lawmaker kidnapped by Kurdish rebels near the eastern city of Tunceli, authorities and the lawmaker's party said. Huseyin Aygun, from the main opposition Republican People's Party, was abducted last night at a roadblock between the town of Ovacik and Tunceli;...

Bombing Strikes Iranian Parade, Kills 10

Iran blames attack on 'terrorists'

(Newser) - A bomb struck a military parade in Iran today, killing 10 and wounding 57, most of them women and children, according to the provincial governor. On the state-run Press TV, authorities blamed the attack on “terrorists” who opposed the 1979 Islamic revolution, and who “have always carried out...

Turkey Bombs Rebels in Iraqi Mountains

Attacks must end 'as soon as possible,' Baghdad warns

(Newser) - Fighting continued in semiautonomous Kurdistan today as Turkey’s air and artillery forces let loose a hail of bombs in the mountains of northern Iraq, the AP reports. The strikes are ratcheting up tension between Turkey and the US-backed Iraqi government: Iraq’s foreign minister today told Turkey to get...

Rebel Kurds Free Turkish Soldiers
Rebel Kurds Free Turkish Soldiers
Nov 4, 2007 4:53 PM CST

Rebel Kurds Free Turkish Soldiers

Move could deter war; Turkey's PM to meet Bush tomorrow

(Newser) - Kurds freed eight Turkish soldiers today, a move that may cut the odds of a Turkish invasion into northern Iraq, Reuters reports. But Turkey still wants Kurdish rebels arrested and training camps shut down. Britain's defense secretary called the release "a significant move," but added, "We need...

Baghdad Vows to Curb Kurds
Baghdad Vows to Curb Kurds
Nov 3, 2007 4:36 PM CDT

Baghdad Vows to Curb Kurds

Iraqi PM refuses to rule out joint military strike with Ankara against rebels

(Newser) - Iraq vowed today to “chase and arrest” Kurds who are striking Turkey from northern Iraq, the BBC reports. "We will co-operate with our neighbors in defeating this threat," Maliki told diplomats at international talks in Istanbul. Baghdad showed its muscle by shutting a Kurdish political office, but...

Rice Pledges US Assist to Turkey
Rice Pledges
US Assist
to Turkey
Nov 2, 2007 6:04 AM CDT

Rice Pledges US Assist to Turkey

Promises 'effective' action to stop attacks from rebels in Iraq

(Newser) - Heading to talks in Ankara today, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters the Kurdish militants who have attacked Turkey from northern Iraq are a "common enemy" of the US and Turkey, and promised that the US will deliver an "effective" strategy against Kurdish militants if Ankara holds...

Turkey Masses Troops, Ready to Invade

'We don't need permission' to strike Kurds, PM says

(Newser) - Turkey will invade Northern Iraq “the moment an operation is needed,” Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan vowed after talks with Baghdad crumbled last night. Ankara has up to 100,000 troops on the Iraqi border, backed by tanks and fighter plans, ready to strike roughly 3,000 Kurdish rebels....

Turkish Troops Said Missing
Turkish Troops Said Missing
Oct 22, 2007 7:28 AM CDT

Turkish Troops Said Missing

Troops and trucks mass on northern Iraqi border after Kurdish ambush; incursion looms

(Newser) - A Turkish convoy with dozens of military vehicles joined tens of thousands of troops massed on the Iraqi border today, as the military announced that eight soldiers were missing, in addition to 12 killed, in an ambush by Kurdish militants early yesterday morning. The Turks shelled Kurdish camps over the...

Kurdish Rebels Kill 12 Turkish Soldiers

PM Erdogan calls crisis talks; military response is likely imminent

(Newser) - Kurdish rebels killed 12 Turkish troops and wounded 16 more in a surprise attack in Turkey today, Reuters reports, four days after parliament voted to allow military strikes against the Kurdistan Workers' Party in northern Iraq. Now, the pressure is on for the Turkish government to take decisive military action,...

Turkey's Threats Send Oil to Record High Near $88

Many fear disruption of Kurdish pipelines

(Newser) - Crude oil hit yet another record today, trading near $88 a barrel over fears that a looming Turkish attack on Northern Iraq would disrupt pipelines in the world’s third-largest oil producer. Turkey’s PM said he expected parliament to approve an incursion to root out PKK militants in the...

Turkey Weighs Iraq Strikes
Turkey Weighs Iraq Strikes
Oct 16, 2007 4:07 AM CDT

Turkey Weighs Iraq Strikes

Military should begin sorties into northern Iraq this month

(Newser) - Despite intense diplomatic opposition from the US, the Turkish prime minister has set in motion the parliamentary process to deploy troops to Northern Iraq. PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a motion yesterday authorizing military action in response to attacks across the border by  Kurdish rebels, the Times of London reports....

Bombing Rocks Turkish Capital
Bombing Rocks Turkish Capital
May 23, 2007 7:28 AM CDT

Bombing Rocks Turkish Capital

Ankara attack may prompt move against Kurdish militants on Iraqi border

(Newser) - An explosion shocked the Turkish capital yesterday, killing six and injuring at least 100 in a busy marketplace. The bombing comes at a delicate time for the country, the New York Times observes, as Parliament clash with the governing party over the place of Islam in the secular democracy.

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