Turks Launch Attack Against Rebels In Iraq

Military Granted Permission For Cross-Border Offensive; Claim Strike Against 50-60 Kurdish Fighters

(CBS/AP)  The Turkish military said Saturday that it fired on a group of between 50 and 60 Kurdish rebels inside Iraqi territory, inflicting "significant losses."

The military said on its Web site that the rebels were detected following intelligence work and that military operations in "the region" would continue if necessary. It did not say whether Turkish troops crossed into Iraq as part of the operation.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that the government had granted authorization to its military to begin a cross-border offensive against Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq at any time.

"There was an intensified operation against the mentioned terrorists using fire support vehicles," the military statement said. "It is observed through technical means that the terrorist group suffered significant losses as a result of the operation."

The statement also said: "If necessary, there will be other operations in the region, using other means."

Erdogan's announcement on Friday followed communication in recent weeks between the military and the government concerning the scope of a possible operation against the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. A top general had said the military was awaiting a government directive on how to proceed against the group, which has been fighting the Turkish state since 1984.

Parliament voted Oct. 17 to authorize the government to order a cross-border operation against the PKK, which seeks autonomy for the Kurdish minority in southeastern Turkey.

Turkey has massed tens of thousands of Turkish troops along the border with Iraq amid a series of attacks by Kurdish insurgents. But some military officials have said Turkey is more likely to stage air strikes and raids by special forces instead of a large-scale occupation of Iraqi territory that could carry greater military and political risks.

The United States and Iraq urged Turkey to avoid a major operation against PKK bases in northern Iraq, fearing such an operation would destabilize what has been the calmest region in the country. In a Nov. 5 meeting with Erdogan, President Bush promised to share intelligence on the PKK with the Turkish government.

In Other Developments:

As of Friday, Nov. 30, 2007, at least 3,881 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes eight military civilians. At least 3,161 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers. The AP count is two higher than the Defense Department's tally, last updated Friday at 10 a.m. EST.

In addition, the British military has reported 173 deaths; Italy, 33; Ukraine, 18; Poland, 21; Bulgaria, 13; Spain, 11; Denmark, seven; El Salvador, five; Slovakia, four; Latvia, three; Estonia, Netherlands, Thailand, Romania, two each; and Australia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, South Korea, one death each.

Lawmakers from the Iraqi parliament's largest Sunni Arab bloc walked out of Saturday's session to protest what they called the house arrest of their leader, Adnan al-Dulaimi, following the discovery of a car bomb near his compound. Al-Dulaimi, a harsh critic of Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, told lawmakers that he was prevented by security forces from leaving his house in western Baghdad to come to parliament, after the keys to an explosives-laden vehicle were found on one of his bodyguards. Al-Dulaimi's son, Maki Adnan al-Dulaimi, and about 30 other people also were arrested Friday.

A raid carried out by suspected al Qaeda militants north of Baghdad has left more than a dozen Shiite villagers dead. Police say the attack this morning began with a barrage of mortar fire. Then as many as 60 militants stormed the village, shooting people and burning houses. One Iraqi police officer says at least 13 people were killed, including three children and two women. Fourteen other villagers were wounded. The villagers apparently fought back, killing three of the militants.

In southern Iraq, police captured a suspect believed responsible for supplying and coordinating roadside bomb attacks against American and Iraqi troops, the U.S. military said Saturday. The American statement said the suspect, detained Friday in Nasiriyah, about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad, had traveled repeatedly to Iran and was found with Iranian weapons
and munitions, including three new Iranian-made rockets and boosters, a launcher and AK-47 assault rifles and ammunition.

Also in Iraq's south, gunmen abducted the dean of a technical institute in Amarah, a Shiite militia stronghold about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad, leaving behind his car and driver, according to an aide. Raid al-Saaiy was taken away by gunmen in a pickup truck, said the aide, Ahmed Ajeel. Although it was not immediately clear why al-Saaiy was targeted, Iraqi academics have fallen victim to Iraq's religious extremists and other violent groups. As of Nov. 1, 336 Iraqi academics were assassinated, according to an Associated Press count, and thousands had fled.

On Friday five volunteer members of a local guard group known as the Awakening Council were killed in various incidents. In one village, a volunteer was killed by a suicide bomber who blew himself up when members of the group cornered him in his house.

© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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by redbarron73 December 2, 2007 4:29 PM EST

BUSH, listen up. New strategy. Just drop all pretense. Stop pretending to give a *** about the Iraqi people. Just protect the OIL. Pull out of all civilian areas and just let ''''''''em kill each other. It''''''''s gonna happen sooner or later until one group gains the upper hand anyway.

We could keep our boys out of harm''''''''s way and still do a better job protecting our REAL interests.

Reply to this comment

by brianbwb-2009 December 2, 2007 5:43 AM EST

So Turkey launches military action against Iraq, a country that the US occupies, and therefore assumes responsibility for the security of Iraq.

Whatever happened to "Saddam gassed the poor Kurds"?
Now that Turkey is blowing up the Kurds, where are the chickenhawk neocon war worshipers'' calls to invade Turkey?...

Even Bush''s "minor" vilifications of Saddam are coming back to roost on the face of the ones who used them as justification.

Reply to this comment

by alphaa10-2009 December 2, 2007 2:46 AM EST

The Moyers documentary, "Buying the War", was previewed on April 27, 2007, on the Bill Moyers Journal (BMJ-PBS) and now has been released in DVD format for sale from www.pbs.org.

Anyone visiting www.pbs.org can use search term "Buying the War" to visit its home page at the Bill Moyers Journal. There, you can stream-preview episodes in the archive, or download most in MP3-format audio content.

For a quicklink to the BMJ homepage for Buying the War--
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/btw/watch.html

Reply to this comment

by feelfree1 December 2, 2007 2:45 AM EST

alphaa10,

Re: "Thanks, FeelFree1, for the commentary from Walter Cronkite and David Krieger."

You are welcome.

Reply to this comment

by alphaa10-2009 December 2, 2007 2:05 AM EST

Thanks, FeelFree1, for the commentary from Walter Cronkite and David Krieger.

As though a dam has burst, more public figures are now wagging their fingers at a naked wannabe emperor who, along with Cheney, is indecently exposed as an inveterate liar. Others, like Rice, are merely prevaricators, after the fact of The Big Lie.

Said Kronkite, "The invasion of Iraq was illegal from the start. Not only was Congress lied to in order to secure its support for the invasion of Iraq, but the war also lacked the support of the U.N. Security Council and thus was an aggressive war initiated on the false pretenses of weapons of mass destruction. There were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Nor has any assertion of a relationship between Iraq and al-Qaida proven to be true."

The just-released Bill Moyers documentary, "Buying the War", details how The Big Lie about Iraq, WMDs and all, went from fakery to official truth-- and was accepted in 2003 as the truth by not only most of congress but the mainstream media. (stream the documentary for free from http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/btw/watch.html)

Too many people wanted to trust Bush, without a critical regard for the facts. That, in itself, is the classic modus operandi of the con man-- and like a shark smelling blood in the water, Bush the Demagogue moved in for the kill.

Reply to this comment

by ontheleft December 2, 2007 1:57 AM EST

"Let the chess games with fate begin. Cool!"

You''ll be able to trace the roots of WW III to the invasion by the U.S. of Iraq. Very "cool" indeed.

Reply to this comment

by glaswolf December 2, 2007 12:57 AM EST

Turbulence in this region threatens our logistics routes for our expeditionary army. We must consider preparing to conquer the facilities we need to protect the stability of our battle field supplies. Ok, things are going to get spooky. Let the chess games with fate begin. Cool!

Reply to this comment

by searingtruth December 1, 2007 11:31 PM EST

"And so death begat death, and suffering begat suffering, until all had been consumed, and all cause lost."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com

Reply to this comment

by feelfree1 December 1, 2007 10:54 PM EST

Have a good trip, Abdoul.

Reply to this comment

by abdoul_pasha December 1, 2007 9:51 PM EST

I`m well, I will travel to Dubai on Tuesday

Reply to this comment

by feelfree1 December 1, 2007 9:38 PM EST

I am well, Abdoul.

And you?

Reply to this comment

by abdoul_pasha December 1, 2007 9:33 PM EST

How are you?

Reply to this comment

by feelfree1 December 1, 2007 9:28 PM EST

O.K., Abdoul.

Reply to this comment

by abdoul_pasha December 1, 2007 9:26 PM EST

You can call me only Abdoul

Reply to this comment

by feelfree1 December 1, 2007 9:15 PM EST

Good evening, "Abdoul_Pasha".

Reply to this comment

by abdoul_pasha December 1, 2007 9:14 PM EST

Goodevening Feelfree1

Reply to this comment

by abdoul_pasha December 1, 2007 9:12 PM EST

This is not good, the new destabilization and increasment of the violence in Iraq.

Reply to this comment

by feelfree1 December 1, 2007 9:07 PM EST

Re: "The American statement said the suspect, detained Friday in Nasiriyah, about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad, had traveled repeatedly to Iran and was found with Iranian weapons and munitions, including three new Iranian-made rockets and boosters, a launcher and AK-47 assault rifles and ammunition."

So faqr, U.S. officials and our lapdog Western press have provided zero conclusive evidence that Iran is supplying weapons to the Iraqi armed resistance.

However, since the war against Iraq is a heinous criminal act, and since the people of Iraq have every right to defend themselves, they would be perfectly entitled to accept help from their neighbors to expell the illegal invaders from their country.

U.S. officials lack any standing to criticise the people of Iraq for defending themselves by whatever means they deem necessary.

Reply to this comment

by feelfree1 December 1, 2007 9:01 PM EST

Re: "A raid carried out by suspected al Qaeda militants north of Baghdad has left more than a dozen Shiite villagers dead."

On what grounds were they determined to be "suspected al Qaeda militants"?

Did they leave a business card?

U.S. officials have few options but to continue the "al-Qaeda-in-Iraq" hoax, since without it, we have zero justification for continuing the brutal and criminal war of aggression against Iraq- a debacle that has already claimed the lives of more than 4,000 Americans, and 1 million+ Iraqis, according to the best available estimates- all in the name of greed, hatred, fear, hype, and empire.

Reply to this comment

by skyk-2009 December 1, 2007 8:57 PM EST

First, those Kurds brought this on themselves. Second, that US military general''''s "absolutely nothing" comment and the Kurd''''s thinking they could hide behind us to attack Turkey are to blame for this. Lastly, here''''s hoping that the Kurds and Turks can reach some kind of accord.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by denn034 at 05:15 PM : Dec 01, 2007
+ report abuse

Yep this kind of thing happens when you interfer in OTHER peoples LIVES and start telling them how to govern themselves. The people of the Muslim World are trying to find their way just like we did but MODERATE Muslims are the KEY and right now we do not have a leader who has ANY respect in that part of the world. That''s how WE successfully put down Religious Extremist in our own South. When we have someone in charge who UNDERSTANDS these things we will be much better off.

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[redbarron73]

BUSH, listen up. New strategy. Just drop all pretense. Stop pretending to give a *** about the Iraqi people. Just protect the OIL. Pull out of all civilian areas and just let ''''''''em kill each other. It''''''''s gonna happen sooner or later until one group gains the upper hand anyway.

We could keep our boys out of harm''''''''s way and still do a better job protecting our REAL interests.

[brianbwb-2009]

So Turkey launches military action against Iraq, a country that the US occupies, and therefore assumes responsibility for the security of Iraq.

Whatever happened to "Saddam gassed the poor Kurds"?
Now that Turkey is blowing up the Kurds, where are the chickenhawk neocon war worshipers'' calls to invade Turkey?...

Even Bush''s "minor" vilifications of Saddam are coming back to roost on the face of the ones who used them as justification.

[alphaa10-2009]

The Moyers documentary, "Buying the War", was previewed on April 27, 2007, on the Bill Moyers Journal (BMJ-PBS) and now has been released in DVD format for sale from www.pbs.org.

Anyone visiting www.pbs.org can use search term "Buying the War" to visit its home page at the Bill Moyers Journal. There, you can stream-preview episodes in the archive, or download most in MP3-format audio content.

For a quicklink to the BMJ homepage for Buying the War--
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/btw/watch.html

[feelfree1]

alphaa10,

Re: "Thanks, FeelFree1, for the commentary from Walter Cronkite and David Krieger."

You are welcome.

[alphaa10-2009]

Thanks, FeelFree1, for the commentary from Walter Cronkite and David Krieger.

As though a dam has burst, more public figures are now wagging their fingers at a naked wannabe emperor who, along with Cheney, is indecently exposed as an inveterate liar. Others, like Rice, are merely prevaricators, after the fact of The Big Lie.

Said Kronkite, "The invasion of Iraq was illegal from the start. Not only was Congress lied to in order to secure its support for the invasion of Iraq, but the war also lacked the support of the U.N. Security Council and thus was an aggressive war initiated on the false pretenses of weapons of mass destruction. There were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Nor has any assertion of a relationship between Iraq and al-Qaida proven to be true."

The just-released Bill Moyers documentary, "Buying the War", details how The Big Lie about Iraq, WMDs and all, went from fakery to official truth-- and was accepted in 2003 as the truth by not only most of congress but the mainstream media. (stream the documentary for free from http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/btw/watch.html)

Too many people wanted to trust Bush, without a critical regard for the facts. That, in itself, is the classic modus operandi of the con man-- and like a shark smelling blood in the water, Bush the Demagogue moved in for the kill.

[ontheleft]

"Let the chess games with fate begin. Cool!"

You''ll be able to trace the roots of WW III to the invasion by the U.S. of Iraq. Very "cool" indeed.

[glaswolf]

Turbulence in this region threatens our logistics routes for our expeditionary army. We must consider preparing to conquer the facilities we need to protect the stability of our battle field supplies. Ok, things are going to get spooky. Let the chess games with fate begin. Cool!

[searingtruth]

"And so death begat death, and suffering begat suffering, until all had been consumed, and all cause lost."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com

[feelfree1]

Have a good trip, Abdoul.

[abdoul_pasha]

I`m well, I will travel to Dubai on Tuesday

[feelfree1]

I am well, Abdoul.

And you?

[abdoul_pasha]

How are you?

[feelfree1]

O.K., Abdoul.

[abdoul_pasha]

You can call me only Abdoul

[feelfree1]

Good evening, "Abdoul_Pasha".

[abdoul_pasha]

Goodevening Feelfree1

[abdoul_pasha]

This is not good, the new destabilization and increasment of the violence in Iraq.

[feelfree1]

Re: "The American statement said the suspect, detained Friday in Nasiriyah, about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad, had traveled repeatedly to Iran and was found with Iranian weapons and munitions, including three new Iranian-made rockets and boosters, a launcher and AK-47 assault rifles and ammunition."

So faqr, U.S. officials and our lapdog Western press have provided zero conclusive evidence that Iran is supplying weapons to the Iraqi armed resistance.

However, since the war against Iraq is a heinous criminal act, and since the people of Iraq have every right to defend themselves, they would be perfectly entitled to accept help from their neighbors to expell the illegal invaders from their country.

U.S. officials lack any standing to criticise the people of Iraq for defending themselves by whatever means they deem necessary.

[feelfree1]

Re: "A raid carried out by suspected al Qaeda militants north of Baghdad has left more than a dozen Shiite villagers dead."

On what grounds were they determined to be "suspected al Qaeda militants"?

Did they leave a business card?

U.S. officials have few options but to continue the "al-Qaeda-in-Iraq" hoax, since without it, we have zero justification for continuing the brutal and criminal war of aggression against Iraq- a debacle that has already claimed the lives of more than 4,000 Americans, and 1 million+ Iraqis, according to the best available estimates- all in the name of greed, hatred, fear, hype, and empire.

[skyk-2009]

First, those Kurds brought this on themselves. Second, that US military general''''s "absolutely nothing" comment and the Kurd''''s thinking they could hide behind us to attack Turkey are to blame for this. Lastly, here''''s hoping that the Kurds and Turks can reach some kind of accord.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by denn034 at 05:15 PM : Dec 01, 2007
+ report abuse

Yep this kind of thing happens when you interfer in OTHER peoples LIVES and start telling them how to govern themselves. The people of the Muslim World are trying to find their way just like we did but MODERATE Muslims are the KEY and right now we do not have a leader who has ANY respect in that part of the world. That''s how WE successfully put down Religious Extremist in our own South. When we have someone in charge who UNDERSTANDS these things we will be much better off.