Turkish warplanes bomb Kurd bases in northern Iraq
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ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish warplanes have bombed Kurdish rebel bases in northern Iraq, the military said Sunday, two days after rebels killed 15 soldiers in an attack staged partly from Iraqi soil.
The planes bombed Saturday in Iraq's Avasin Basyan region and returned safely to their bases, the military said.
The military's deputy chief, meanwhile, accused leaders in northern Iraq of tolerating the rebels.
"We don't receive any kind of support from the local administration in the northern part of Iraq," Turkey's Gen. Hasan Igsiz said Sunday. "Our expectation from them is to accept that the terrorist organization is a terrorist organization and eliminate the support provided to it."
Turkey is urging Iraqi Kurdish leaders to arrest the rebels and cut their supply lines, after rebels on Friday fired mortars and artillery from Iraqi soil onto a military outpost in a Turkish valley in Aktutun. The attack touched off the deadliest battle between Turkish troops and Kurdish rebels in eight months. Fifteen soldiers and at least 23 insurgents were killed, while another 20 soldiers were wounded and two were still missing, the military said.
"They did not die in vain, they did their duties and they succeeded," Igsiz said.
The Turkish general also said northern Iraqi leaders should block the rebels from using local roads and hospitals.
The Turkish military says it needs Iraqi help to halt the rebel infiltration from bases across the long and mountainous border. It says its surveillance capabilities in Iraq are limited, and that the rugged terrain made it difficult to defend positions.
Iraq's national government has pledged to cooperate with Turkey. President Jalal Talibani _ who is a Kurd _ told Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul in a phone call Saturday that he condemned Friday's attack. He said the "ugliness" of the attack was increased by the fact that it was staged during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
Turkey's civilian leaders have vowed to respond firmly to the rebels from the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which has been fighting for autonomy in the southeast since 1984.
But on the streets of Turkey, public anger has mounted with each funeral held for the slain soldiers. The anger has turned toward Turkish leaders as well. On Sunday, mourners booed Gul at a funeral in the western city of Eskisehir, and they booed Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at another funeral in Armutlu village, near the capital.
"If there is a government, it should show itself," said 68-year-old Molla Atagur in Armutlu, calling for tougher action against the rebels.
The upsurge in violence followed several months of relative calm since February, when Turkey staged a weeklong ground offensive against guerrillas based in northern Iraq and claimed to have killed hundreds of them.
Since Friday's attack, no Turkish troops have entered Iraq, though Turkish F-16s, attack helicopters and artillery units have pounded rebel positions just across the border, Igsiz said.
Turkey's Parliament votes Wednesday on extending the military's mandate to carry out cross-border operations against rebel bases in northern Iraq. The current mandate expires Oct. 17.
The military also said it would ask the government to give security forces more power in combatting terrorism.
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Associated Press writers Gulden Alp and Burhan Ozbilici in Ankara contributed to this report.
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SELCAN HACAOGLU | October 5, 2008 12:55 PM EST |
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