Kurdish rebels

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Thousands of 'Betrayed' Kurds Flee Offensive

Turkey says it has lost one soldier and 'neutralized' hundreds of 'terrorists'

(Newser) - More than 60,000 people in northern Syria have fled a Turkish offensive that is now in its third day, aid groups say. Turkish forces pushed further into the region Thursday, carrying out air and ground attacks against Syrian Kurdish fighters, reports Reuters . The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says...

Trump Offers Bizarre Reason for Abandoning Kurdish Allies

'They didn't help us in Normandy,' he says

(Newser) - President Trump angered critics including fellow Republicans with bizarre remarks Wednesday downplaying the importance of the alliance between US and Kurdish forces against ISIS, and of alliances in general. The president defended his decision to allow a Turkish offensive in northern Syria by pointing out that Kurdish fighters did not...

Trump: I'm 'Not Siding With Anybody' in Syria

Turkey pushes back against threat to 'obliterate' economy

(Newser) - President Trump says he's "not siding with anybody" in the widening gyre of northern Syria—but it's a claim all sides have trouble believing. The president, asked Monday why his government was siding with Turkey instead of America's Kurdish allies, said he was merely sticking to...

White House: Turkey to Invade Northern Syria

US to pull troops ahead of planned offensive

(Newser) - The White House said Sunday that Turkey will soon invade northern Syria, renewing fears of a slaughter of Kurdish fighters allied with the US in a yearslong campaign against ISIS. For months, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been threatening to launch a military assault on the Kurdish forces in...

Lawmaker's Kidnapping Roils Turkey

Huseyin Aygun is first lawmaker to be taken by Kurdish rebels

(Newser) - Turkish troops launched a search yesterday for a lawmaker kidnapped by Kurdish rebels near the eastern city of Tunceli, authorities and the lawmaker's party said. Huseyin Aygun, from the main opposition Republican People's Party, was abducted last night at a roadblock between the town of Ovacik and Tunceli;...

Bomb-Carrying Woman Killed in Istanbul Blast

Police probe possible suicide bombing

(Newser) - A woman in Istanbul was killed yesterday when the bomb she was carrying exploded, Turkish state news reports. Police investigating reports of a blast discovered her body; now, they're trying to figure out if she was a suicide bomber or meant to plant the bomb somewhere, only to have...

Turkey Kills 35 Civilians in Attempted Hit on Rebels

Kurdish officials claim the dead were actually teen cigarette smugglers

(Newser) - Turkey's air force attacked suspected Kurdish rebel targets across the border in Iraq, but the roughly 35 people killed were teenage smugglers mistaken for guerrillas. A ruling party spokesman said today the victims "were not terrorists," but people smuggling cigarettes into Turkey from Iraq. He added that...

In Pursuit of Kurdish Rebels, Turkey Invades Iraq

Troops cross border after PKK attacks kill 26 soldiers

(Newser) - Turkey sent troops, air force bombers, and helicopter gunships across the border into Iraq today in pursuit of Kurdish rebels, after a series of PKK attacks left 26 Turkish soldiers dead and 22 wounded, according to Turkish television reports. Though Turkish authorities haven’t confirmed the incursion, the chief of...

Bomb Rocks Turkish Capital
 Bomb Rocks Turkish Capital 
Sep 20, 2011 7:14 AM CDT

Bomb Rocks Turkish Capital

Conflicting reports on casualties, but at least 15 wounded

(Newser) - A suspected car bomb rocked the Turkish capital of Ankara today, and al-Jazeera cites reports claiming that at least two people were killed. No one has yet claimed responsibility, but Kurdish rebels have been escalating their decades-long fight for autonomy and attacking Turkish targets. Rebel groups, as well as Islamic...

Turkey: We Killed 100 Kurd Rebels in Iraq

Turkish attacks come in response to an ambush last week

(Newser) - Turkey's military said today airstrikes on suspected Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq this week have killed an estimated 90 to 100 guerrillas and warned that it would press ahead with offensives against the group both inside Turkey and across the border. "Iraq's north and domestic areas...

Bombing Strikes Iranian Parade, Kills 10

Iran blames attack on 'terrorists'

(Newser) - A bomb struck a military parade in Iran today, killing 10 and wounding 57, most of them women and children, according to the provincial governor. On the state-run Press TV, authorities blamed the attack on “terrorists” who opposed the 1979 Islamic revolution, and who “have always carried out...

Kurds Battle Riot Police in Turkey

Shouting PKK slogans, Turkish Kurds clash with police

(Newser) - Thousands of Kurds battled police with rocks and fires in Turkish cities today, the BBC reports. Dozens were injured, including almost 40 demonstrators and 15 officers, as cops arrested more than 130 people. One policeman and three protesters are in intensive care. Sparked by Turkey's strikes on Kurdish rebels in...

Reb Leader Calls for Kurd Uprising in Turkey

Insurgency urged as Iraq battle continues

(Newser) - As Turkish troops continue their unprecedented ground offensive in northern Iraq, a leader of the targeted Kurdish separatist group has called for Kurds living in Turkey to rebel. A news agency loyal to the Kurdistan Workers' Party carried the call of the rebel Kurd commander to make Turkish cities "...

Dozens Dead in Turkish Ground Raid
Dozens Dead in Turkish Ground Raid
Feb 23, 2008 6:39 AM CST

Dozens Dead in Turkish Ground Raid

Troops continue to pursue Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq mountains

(Newser) - Turkish forces pursued Kurdish militants in northern Iraq for a third day today, with the Turkish military reporting least 24 militants and five Turkish soldiers killed since they sent troops across the border to attack separatist strongholds Thursday night. At least 20 other Kurds died in the air assault that...

Turkish Troops Cross Into Iraq
Turkish Troops Cross Into Iraq
Dec 18, 2007 6:14 AM CST

Turkish Troops Cross Into Iraq

Ground operations follow air raids on Kurdish rebels

(Newser) - Turkey sent hundreds of troops across the Iraqi border today to battle Kurdish separatists, the first large-scale ground incursion since tensions rose in the fall, Reuters reports. About 300 lightly armed troops arrived in a semi-autonomous mountainous region, Iraqi officials said. Ankara had no immediate comment on the operation, which...

Bush Offers Turkish PM Intel on Kurds

Designed to avert war, offer satisfies Erdogan

(Newser) - President Bush and Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan emerged in agreement from a  Washington meeting today, with Erdogan declaring, “I’m happy,”  after Bush offered him access to US intel to track Kurdish rebels operating out of Northern Iraq. Bush vowed to share "real time" information...

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