Official: Turkish soldiers freed
(CNN) — Eight Turkish soldiers missing since an ambush two weeks ago by Kurdish rebel forces were on their way home to Turkey Sunday morning after they were handed over to Kurdish regional government officials in northern Iraq’s Kurdistan region, a top Kurdistan government official has told CNN.
All eight are healthy and in good condition, said Fuad Hussein, chief of staff for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). I hope they will be rejoined with their families very soon.
There was no immediate word from Turkey’s government or military on the development.
Turkey’s military confirmed on Oct. 22 that eight soldiers were still missing after their ambush the previous day by rebels from the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, that killed at least 12 soldiers in southeastern Turkey.
Turkey’s Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul has denied reports that any Turkish soldiers had been abducted by PKK rebels.
The PKK has been launching attacks into southeastern Turkey from northern Iraq. The group is pushing for an autonomous Kurdish state in the region.
In response, Turkey is threatening to launch a full-scale military attack against the PKK, and has stationed 100,000 troops near the border. The United States fears that strikes by its NATO ally against the PKK could destabilize the U.S.-backed government in Baghdad and jeopardize supply lines for its 160,000-plus troops in Iraq.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Saturday attempted to dissuade Turkey from launching attacks into PKK territory in northern Iraq during talks with Turkish and Iraqi leaders on the sidelines of a meeting in Istanbul attended by Iraq’s neighbors and other Arab countries.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has pledged to work with Turkey and the Kurdish regional government to resolve the conflict.
On Saturday, the office of the Kurdistan Democratic Solution Party, a local political group, was shut down in the Kurdish region because of its ties with PKK rebels, the state-run al-Iraqiya television network reported.
Al-Maliki said the Iraqi government has resolved to close all the offices and the front business of the PKK all over the Iraqi territories and also announced other measures to clamp down on the PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and Europe.
There will be tighter controls at borders and airports to check the group’s movements, and greater efforts to isolate the PKK by cutting off aid to them. Suspected PKK members captured by the authorities will be tried in Iraqi courts on terrorist charges, al-Maliki said.
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