Monday, April 09, 2007
Turkish forces shell northern Iraqi Kurdish village
Security, Turkey, Kurdistan
(VOI) – Turkish forces shelled with artillery the area of northern Zakhu, on the borders of Iraq, but no casualties or injuries were reported, eyewitnesses in Bativa in northern Zakhu said on Sunday. "The shelling occurred on Sunday, about 2 km north of the village of Nazdor," Mustafa Shilani, a local from the village, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). He said no casualties resulted from the attack but it caused panic among the villagers.
Zakhu is the capital city of Dahuk in the Iraqi Kurdistan region. Brig. Fahmi Sufi, deputy commander of the Peshmerga's 1st Division, told VOI by telephone that nine Turkish 120 mm artillery shells were fired near the border village of Nazdor. The Peshmerga forces are Kurdish militias loyal to the largest two Kurdish parties: Massoud Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
COMMENT: It is possible the attack was both a warning and in retaliation for three Turkish soldiers allegedly killed a few days ago by the PKK. The concern is that the tension will mount and as ground conditions improve as spring starts retaliation attacks will continue which could mount. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: artillery shells, PKK, Turkish forces, Zakhu
