Turkey helicopter ‘downed by PKK’
Kurdish fighters say aircraft shot down as Turkish offensive in northern Iraq continues.
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| There have been conflicting reports over the number of Turkish casualties [AFP] |
Kurdish fighters say they have shot down a Turkish helicopter as the number of casualties rises from Ankara’s military raids into northern Iraq, amid growing international criticism.
The Kurdistan Workers’ party [PKK] said that they shot down the attack helicopter in the remote Chamsku region of Iraq, amid cross-border raids by Turkey to destroy bases held by the Kurdish fighters.
“At 6pm [1500 GMT] yesterday, our fighters shot down a Cobra helicopter,” Ahmed Danees, head of foreign relations for the PKK, said on Sunday.
He said that two PKK fighters have been killed since the Turkish ground and air offensive began on Thursday and that 47 Turkish troops had been killed in the same period.
Turkey’s military general staff confirmed in a statement that a helicopter had been “destroyed” but gave no reason for the loss of the aircraft.
Eight Turkish soldiers and 33 PKK fighters have been killed in Sunday’s clashes, the general staff said, adding that a total of 112 PKK fighters have been killed since Thursday.
Verifying information about casualties is difficult as the fighting is taking place in an inaccessible mountain region.
US position
A statement from Iraq’s government on Sunday urged Turkey “to withdraw its forces from Iraqi soil as soon possible”, calling the operation “a threat to Iraqi sovereignty.”
Ankara says its offensive against the PKK is after Iraqi authorities failed to stop an estimated 3,000 PKK members from using northern Iraq as a base to stage deadly attacks against soldiers and civilians inside Turkey.
The PKK has fought for decades to protect Kurdish interests in southeast Turkey.
Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, said on Sunday that military action would not solve the Turkish government’s problem with fighters from the PKK.
Speaking in Australia, Gates urged Turkey to respect Iraqi sovereignty and improve communication with Baghdad about both the ongoing operation and other efforts against the PKK.
“I think it’s important for everybody to bear in mind the importance of the sovereignty of Iraq,” he said.
“There has been contact at high levels about this activity that is in northern Iraq right now. I think that there can always be improvement in the timeliness and in the depth of the dialogue … It needs to be an ongoing dialogue.”
Al Jazeera’s Laurence Lee in Istanbul said Robert Gates’ comments will have some resonance in Turkey, but that there is still widespread political backing for the military operation.
Conflicting numbers
Australia joined those opposing the Turkish offensive on Sunday with Stephen Smith, the foreign minister, calling on Turkey to withdraw its troops from Iraq “as soon as possible”.
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There have been conflicting reports about the scale of the cross-border operation, the largest in a decade.
The general staff has not said how many troops are involved, but it said on Saturday fighting was raging in four different areas of northern Iraq, suggesting a large-scale operation.