.Iran shells Iranian Kurdish positions in Iraq: PUK
ZAKHU, Iraq (Reuters) - Iranian forces shelled Iranian Kurdish rebel positions inside mountainous northern Iraq on Friday to repel an attack, wounding at least four civilians, Iraqi Kurdish officials said.
"This morning Iranian Kurdish fighters infiltrated the border into the Iranian side and the Iranian army bombed the area and repelled them. The shelling hit Iraqi land at Sidakan," said Saadi Pira, an official in Iraq's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party.
The governor of the Arbil region, Nawzad Hadi, said four civilians had been wounded in the shelling of the rebels of the Iranian Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK). Sidakan is about 80 km (50 miles) north of the Iraqi city of Arbil and about 10 km (6 miles) from the Iranian border.
The pro-PKK Firat Web site and a rebel spokesman said six Iranian soldiers and five Kurdish guerrillas had been killed. It was not possible to independently confirm that claim.
The incident could fuel tensions in Iraq, where Sunni Arab leaders accuse Shi'ite Iran of meddling in the country's internal affairs.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards have previously clashed with PJAK separatists in Iran's restive western borderlands.
Security experts say PJAK is an Iranian wing of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), whose separatist struggle has regained momentum in southeast Turkey since it called off a unilateral cease-fire in the summer of 2004.
REBEL BASES
Turkey has long been concerned about PKK rebel bases in northern Iraq, which it frequently attacked before the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Dozens of guerrillas and members of Turkey's security forces have been killed in fighting in recent months, and a group linked to the PKK has claimed responsibility for several bomb attacks in Istanbul.
Ankara, which has up to 250,000 troops in southeast Turkey, has sent an extra 40,000 soldiers to the area to prepare for an expected rise in PKK incursions from northern Iraq, a senior Turkish military official said on Thursday.
Turkey's Daily Aksam said on Friday 50,000 troops were massed at the borders with Iran and Iraq and the army planned to extend its fight against the PKK beyond Turkey's borders.
Iraqi Kurdish officials said they were concerned by reports Turkey was deploying troops for possible attacks on PKK rebels.
But a military official in Turkey's southeast said operations over the Iraqi border were not expected.
"We have had some activities near the (Iraqi) border from time to time but (now) we have not had any. When we have any activity beyond the borders, the public would be informed," he told Reuters.
Western diplomats in Ankara said they were not aware of specific plans by the army to fight the PKK in Iraq. The United States has made clear its opposition to any such cross-border action. Ankara is pressing the Americans to flush out the PKK.
Turkey has long been concerned about the regional autonomy enjoyed by Iraqi Kurds, fearing it might encourage similar aspirations among its own Kurdish population.
Scotsman
Can we call this an escalation?
"This morning Iranian Kurdish fighters infiltrated the border into the Iranian side and the Iranian army bombed the area and repelled them. The shelling hit Iraqi land at Sidakan," said Saadi Pira, an official in Iraq's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party.
The governor of the Arbil region, Nawzad Hadi, said four civilians had been wounded in the shelling of the rebels of the Iranian Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK). Sidakan is about 80 km (50 miles) north of the Iraqi city of Arbil and about 10 km (6 miles) from the Iranian border.
The pro-PKK Firat Web site and a rebel spokesman said six Iranian soldiers and five Kurdish guerrillas had been killed. It was not possible to independently confirm that claim.
The incident could fuel tensions in Iraq, where Sunni Arab leaders accuse Shi'ite Iran of meddling in the country's internal affairs.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards have previously clashed with PJAK separatists in Iran's restive western borderlands.
Security experts say PJAK is an Iranian wing of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), whose separatist struggle has regained momentum in southeast Turkey since it called off a unilateral cease-fire in the summer of 2004.
REBEL BASES
Turkey has long been concerned about PKK rebel bases in northern Iraq, which it frequently attacked before the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Dozens of guerrillas and members of Turkey's security forces have been killed in fighting in recent months, and a group linked to the PKK has claimed responsibility for several bomb attacks in Istanbul.
Ankara, which has up to 250,000 troops in southeast Turkey, has sent an extra 40,000 soldiers to the area to prepare for an expected rise in PKK incursions from northern Iraq, a senior Turkish military official said on Thursday.
Turkey's Daily Aksam said on Friday 50,000 troops were massed at the borders with Iran and Iraq and the army planned to extend its fight against the PKK beyond Turkey's borders.
Iraqi Kurdish officials said they were concerned by reports Turkey was deploying troops for possible attacks on PKK rebels.
But a military official in Turkey's southeast said operations over the Iraqi border were not expected.
"We have had some activities near the (Iraqi) border from time to time but (now) we have not had any. When we have any activity beyond the borders, the public would be informed," he told Reuters.
Western diplomats in Ankara said they were not aware of specific plans by the army to fight the PKK in Iraq. The United States has made clear its opposition to any such cross-border action. Ankara is pressing the Americans to flush out the PKK.
Turkey has long been concerned about the regional autonomy enjoyed by Iraqi Kurds, fearing it might encourage similar aspirations among its own Kurdish population.
Scotsman
Can we call this an escalation?
posted by madtom at 2:58 PM
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