Carnage in Diyarbakır; at least 5 killed, 67 wounded by car bomb

L

!LH@N

Active member
Carnage in Diyarbakır; at least 5 killed, 67 wounded by car bomb

Friday, January 4, 2008


reared its ugly head again. But these incidents will not affect our determination to fight terrorism both at home and abroad’

ANKARA - TDN With Agencies

A car bomb apparently targeting military personnel killed five people and wounded 67 others Thursday in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and local officials said.
Prime Minister Erdoğan condemned the heinous terrorist attack and vowed that Turkey's struggle against terrorism will continue with determination. "Terrorism has reared its ugly head again. But these incidents will not affect our determination to fight terrorism both at home and abroad," he said in televised remarks.
The injured included students who were leaving a nearby school at the time of the blast. Four of the injured sustained heavy injuries, Diyarbakır Governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu told reporters.
He added that the car bomb was set off by remote control as a military vehicle was passing on a road in the city center, some 100 meters (yards) from a military base and billets.
Authorities blamed the blast on separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The pro-PKK Fırat news agency reported that PKK leaders in Iraq earlier declared big cities in Turkey targets for members of the terrorist gang living in the country.
Several people could be seen lying unconscious amid burning cars, and a bus was engulfed in flames, reports said. Some students also were injured by flying glass, CNN-Turk television said.
Two suspects captured
Police captured two suspects who reportedly were escaping the scene, CNN-Turk television said, citing police sources.
The attack - which shattered the windows of surrounding buildings and could be heard some 3 kilometers (2 miles) away - appeared to be a retaliation to three air strikes by Turkish warplanes against separatist Kurdish terrorist shelters in northern Iraq last month.
Television stations showed vehicles engulfed in flames as ambulances and firefighters rushed to the scene. One man's face was covered with blood.
The blast destroyed the military vehicle and five cars and ignited a large blaze later extinguished by fire fighters. Police threw a security cordon around the scene and kept reporters away, saying this was a precaution against a possible second explosion. Bomb experts on the scene looked for clues as a large crowd gathered nearby, an AFP correspondent saw.
"The place where the explosion happened was full of people, there was a private school right in front of it," a police officer was quoted by Reuters as saying.
The private TV stations said there were large military installations near the site.
Several explosions happened one after another, security sources said, and CNN Turk broadcaster said the area near the site had been cleared in case of further blasts.
Turkish security forces have been on alert over the New Year fearing possible attacks by the PKK and its supporters.
A woman was killed last week in a bomb blast in Istanbul, Turkey's largest city. An explosion in a garbage bin wounded three people on Wednesday in Istanbul. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks but Istanbul Gov. Muammer Güler blamed Kurdish terrorists.
In October, Parliament authorized Turkeys military to strike back at PKK hideouts across the border. Turkish warplanes took off from an air base in Diyarbakır just minutes after Thursdays attack, pro-Kurdish Fırat news agency reported on its Web site. It was not clear if the jets were on a bombing mission.
The general staff has confirmed three air strikes on PKK hideouts in northern Iraq since December 16, in addition to a cross-border land operation to stop a group of terrorists from infiltrating Turkey.
Officials in northern Iraq have reported two other air raids.
Turkish military claimed it has killed up to 175 terrorists in the first air assault alone on Dec. 16.
Operations will continue
Erdoğan declared moments after the Diyarbakır blast that Turkey's war against terrorism will continue “at home and abroad” in determination. The government and top generals have said earlier that the aerial bombing campaign of PKK hideouts in northern Iraq will continue “for as long as necessary.”
Turkey, which has the second largest army in NATO, has massed up to 100,000 troops near the mountainous Iraqi border but has so far held back from a full-scale invasion, though commandos have conducted limited raids into Iraqi territory.
Ankara says it has the right to hit the PKK in Iraq under international law. The PKK has been using northern Iraq as a launch pad to stage attacks that have killed dozens of Turkish troops over the past few months.
Ankara blames the PKK for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people since the group launched its armed campaign for an ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey in 1984.
The United States and European Union, like Turkey, classify the PKK as a terrorist organization. The U.S. military is sharing intelligence with Turkey to help combat the PKK though Washington has also urged Ankara to act with restraint.
The fight against the PKK is expected to top the agenda when Turkey's President Abdullah Gül meets U.S. President George W. Bush at the White House next Tuesday.
Click to expand...
Source:Turkish Daily News http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=92830
 
They don't even realize they're hurting themselves. No serious business is going to invest in the east if they keep on bombing, which means economically they're screwed, and then they yell out "discrimination"...

Regards,
Il
 
I highly doubt it. I thinks it's more of a prejudice (some Spaniards say the same for Maroccans) against Muslims.

Regards,
Il
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top