Turkish warplanes targeting Kurdish rebels bombed northern Iraq yesterday, killing one woman and forcing hundreds to flee, local officials said.
The Turkish military claimed it had attacked targets of the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)
Turkish F-16 jets prepare to take off from military airbase, in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir in November. Turkish warplanes targeting Kurdish rebels bombed villages deep in northern Iraq yesterday killing one woman and forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes, local officials said.
with the approval of US occupying forces in Iraq. However, the US said only that it had been informed in advance of the operation and denied supporting the operation.
Turkish ground forces also shelled areas where the rebels were based, an army statement said. Turkey's NTV television said 50 aircraft had taken part in the three-hour operation.
The Turkish army has up to 100,000 troops near the Iraqi border, threatening a major operation that Washington fears could destabilise one of the most peaceful areas of Iraq.
It was given authorisation by the cabinet last month to conduct cross-border operations against the PKK, which uses northern Iraq as a base for attacks inside Turkey.
"In opening Iraqi airspace to this action last night America gave its approval to the action," the head of Turkey's General Staff, General Yasar Buyukanit, was quoted by the Anatolian state news agency as saying.
A US embassy official said: "We have not approved any decision, it is not for us to approve. However, we were informed before the event."
Pro-separatist Roj TV, quoting PKK sources, said five PKK guerrillas were killed in the overnight bombardment.
The death of the woman was the first reported civilian fatality since Turkey stepped up shelling and air strikes on suspected PKK bases in the Qandil mountains in October.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said his government was determined to use every kind of instrument in the fight against terrorism - diplomatic, political and military.