Turkey Turkey bombs Kurdish rebels in Iraq 06/10/08 16:33 CET

Turkey has bombed rebel Kurdish bases in northern Iraq, in retaliation for the deaths of 15 soldiers inside Turkey last Friday. Twenty other soldiers were wounded in last week’s attack, and two are missing. They are believed to be in rebel hands.

The killings further strained relations between Ankara and Baghdad, which Turkey says is not doing enough to crush the Kurdish Workers’ Party, the PKK, and its bases in northern Iraq.

The soldiers’ relatives vented their anger at the government and demanded action, although Ankara’s options are limited. A large-scale military offensive in Iraq would draw criticism from its NATO allies and the European Union, which Turkey wants to join.