Turkey Confirms Civilian Deaths in Airstrikes

Posted December 29th, 2011 at 12:50 pm (UTC-5)
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A Turkish official has confirmed that 35 people killed in Turkish airstrikes in Iraq are civilians the military mistook for Kurdish rebels.

Ruling party official Huseyin Celik said initial information shows the victims were smugglers, “not terrorists,” and apologized for the deaths.

Earlier, the Turkish military said its jets had bombed an area frequently used by Kurdistan Workers Party rebels. But pro-Kurdish officials said most of those killed were teenagers smuggling items across the border and described the attack as a “massacre.”

Video footage showed mourners gathered around bodies wrapped in blankets.

The PKK has waged a nearly 20-year fight for more Kurdish autonomy in Turkey. The fighting has killed tens of thousands.

Turkey, the European Union and the United States regard the PKK as a terrorist group.