At least 35 dead in Turkish airstrikes
- 12 years ago
Villagers in the mainly Kurdish south-east region of Turkey mourn over the bodies of those killed in an air strike.
At least 35 people died near the Turkey-Iraq border in the overnight attack by the Turkish air force.
The corpses were loaded onto donkeys and trucks to be transported to hospital.
In a statement posted on the Internet, the Turkish military said it launched air strikes against suspected Kurdish militants in northern Iraq near the Turkish border.
But local officials said the victims were not guerillas, but smugglers hit from the air.
Smuggling is a popular source of income for locals in provinces along the Iraqi border.
Kurdistan Workers' Party guerrillas also cross the border in these areas.
Turkish warplanes regularly strike military targets in the area as part of their three-decades-long conflict with Kurdish separatists.
Nick Rowlands, Reuters.
At least 35 people died near the Turkey-Iraq border in the overnight attack by the Turkish air force.
The corpses were loaded onto donkeys and trucks to be transported to hospital.
In a statement posted on the Internet, the Turkish military said it launched air strikes against suspected Kurdish militants in northern Iraq near the Turkish border.
But local officials said the victims were not guerillas, but smugglers hit from the air.
Smuggling is a popular source of income for locals in provinces along the Iraqi border.
Kurdistan Workers' Party guerrillas also cross the border in these areas.
Turkish warplanes regularly strike military targets in the area as part of their three-decades-long conflict with Kurdish separatists.
Nick Rowlands, Reuters.