Turkey Launches Bombing Raids Against Kurdish Strongholds

Family members cry during the funeral of Hasan Aygor, one of 15 Turkish soldiers killed Friday by Kurdish rebels at Turkey-Iraq border, in his village of Armutlu, Turkey Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008. Tens of thousands of Turks in cities across Turkey attended the funerals of slain soldiers. Some mourners booed Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan in Armutlu and President Abdullah Gul in Eskisehir during the funerals. The placard reads: ' Martyrs' families.' (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)

Turkish Warplanes Bomb Kurd Bases In Northern Iraq
-- Yahoo News/AP

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.

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More News On Turkey Bombing Kurdish Positions

Turkey Launches Airstrikes Against Kurdish Rebels -- Washington Post
Turkey bombs PKK bases in Iraq -- Al Jazeera
Turkish troops bomb northern Iraq after PKK clashes -- CNN
Turkey slams Iraqi Kurds after rebel attack kills 15 soldiers -- AFP
Iraq's president condemns Kurdish rebel attack -- International Herald Tribune