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Turkish army launches legal action over leaks on deadly rebel attack
Ankara (AFP) Oct 15, 2008 Turkey's army chief announced Wednesday legal action over leaked reports on a deadly Kurdish rebel attack which accused the army of neglecting prior intelligence. "We have launched legal action against those who have leaked secret information and those who have used it," a visibly angry General Ilker Basbug said in televised remarks in the northwestern city of Balikesir. His outburst came a day after the liberal daily Taraf reported that the general staff had received prior intelligence of the October 3 attack by Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants on a military outpost near the Iraqi border. Seventeen soldiers were killed in the attack which saw PKK rebels, backed by heavy weapons fire from northern Iraq, attempt to take out the outpost located in a deep valley surrounded by rugged mountains in Hakkari province. Taraf claimed that the army had intelligence -- as early as a month before the attack -- that about 80 rebels were moving towards Hakkari from northern Iraq. A report five days before the attack warned that the rebels were bringing anti-aircraft artillery with them while intelligence passed on by the United States a few hours before the assault showed the militants setting up their weapons and mining the area just across from the outpost. Taraf's report came as other newspapers questioned whether lack of proper intelligence was to blame for the attack. "Those who still portray the actions of the terrorist organisation as successful will have responsibility for every drop of blood shed now and to be shed in the future," Basbug warned Wednesday. He said the army was carrying out an internal investigation into the attack and would announce the result once it was completed. "The Turkish armed forces have full self-confidence," he added. The October 3 attack triggered nationwide outrage and pledges by Turkish leaders to rout the rebels who use rear bases in northern Iraq to attack targets inside Turkey. The PKK, considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has been fighting for self-rule in Turkey's mainly Kurdish east and southeast since 1984. The conflict has claimed some 44,000 lives. Related Links News From Across The Stans
Three NATO soldiers killed in Afghanistan
Kabul (AFP) Oct 14, 2008Three soldiers with NATO's International Security Assistance Force were killed in Afghanistan Tuesday when their vehicle struck a bomb, ISAF said. |
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