Photo: A military truck carries a Turkish army tank toward southeastern Turkish city of Sirnak at the Turkey-Iraq border in this Oct. 9, 2007 file photo. Turkey's Parliament on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007 was expected to approve a possible cross-border military incursion into northern Iraq to chase separatist Kurdish rebels despite international calls for restraint.(AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici,File)
Parliament on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a possible cross-border offensive against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, although the government appears willing to give diplomatic pressure on the U.S.-backed Iraqi administration more time to work. Lawmakers voted 507-19 in favor of empowering the government to order the military to cross into Iraq over a one-year period. Turkish leaders have stressed that an offensive against the rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, would not immediately follow the expected authorization.
The Turkish parliament met Wednesday to vote on authorising the government to order military strikes against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, as Baghdad pleaded for time and promised to purge the militants. Scrambling to dissuade Ankara from military action, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said he was determined to act against the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which attacks Turkey from its bases in northern Iraq, the Anatolia news agency reported.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said here Wednesday that Damascus would back a possible Turkish incursion into northern Iraq to crack down "against terrorist activities" there. "We support the decisions the Turkish government has put on its agenda against terrorism and terrorist activities," Assad told reporters after talks with Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul. "We see this as Turkey's legitimate right," he said. He was speaking shortly before the Turkish parliament was to vote on a government motion seeking authorisation for a cross-border operation into neighbouring northern Iraq to pursue Turkish Kurd rebels taking refuge there.
The possibility of Turkish troops entering northern Iraq has affected the activity of Turkish firms in the region with 23 companies having withdrawn in the last 15 days
MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Multi-National Division-Center Soldier from small-arms fire in a raid somewhere south of Baghdad on Sunday, October 14th.
Security incidents:
Baghdad:
#1: About 6:30 a.m., a bomb exploded near a residential building in Zaafaraniyah, a predominantly Shiite neighborhood in southeastern Baghdad. At least two Iraqi civilians died in the blast and two others were wounded, according to police.
#2: The Iraqi army killed five gunmen and arrested 14 others during the last 24 hours in different parts of Iraq, the Defence Ministry said.
#3: A police source said that two civilians were injured on early Wednesday when U.S. forces opened fire randomly in the main street that links Baghdad with southern provinces in al-Wehda neighborhood in southern Baghdad. A U.S. vehicle patrol was heading to Baghdad this morning and collided with a civilian vehicle," the source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI), noting that the soldiers opened fire randomly against civilians in the car. "The random fire seriously injured two civilians, including a woman, who were rushed to al-Sowiera public hospital for treatment," he added.
#4: One Multi-National Division-Center Soldier was killed by small-arms fire while conducting a raid south of Baghdad Oct. 14.
Diyala Prv:
Jalawla:
#1: At least one Peshmerga fighter was killed and 10 wounded in a suicide attack Wednesday near Jalawla town in Diyala province, independent media reports said. A suicide bomber detonated a truck bomb close to a Peshmerga checkpoint near Jalawla, 180 kilometres north-east of Baghdad, Voices of Iraq news agency reported, citing a police source.
al-Mehnawiya:
#1: An explosive charge went off on Wednesday targeting a convoy of a foreign security firm in al-Mehnawiya district, west of Diwaniya, a police source said. "A roadside bomb was detonated near a security firm's vehicle on al-Mehnawiya road, west of Diwaniya," the source, who asked not to be named, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). "The blast damaged the vehicle, which falled down into the river," he noted. "A polish force rushed to the scene and sealed it off," the source added. "No word was available on casualties," he also said.
Affak:
#1: A roadside bomb exploded near a police patrol early Wednesday, killing at least seven officers, according to police. The blast went off about 2 a.m. on the road to Affak, which is about 30 km (20 miles) east of Diwaniyah, said the police officer who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information. Diwaniyah, about 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of Baghdad, has been a recent hotspot for clashes among rival Shiite groups.
#2: Police said about an hour earlier, gunmen had attacked the police station, but no casualties were reported.
#3: A three-vehicle patrol carrying additional officers was then sent to Affak to assist and that convoy was hit by the bomb. One vehicle was destroyed and the dead included the commander of the backup patrol, police said.
Dhi Qar Prv:
#1:AN Australian soldier has been wounded in Iraq. The unnamed soldier suffered a single gunshot wound to the arm about midnight Iraq time during what the Defence Department called a "routine'' patrol. He was in a serious condition but the wound was not considered life threatening, defence spokesman Andrew Nikolic said. Brigadier Nikolic said the shooting happened about 60 kilometres from Camp Terendak, the Australian base in the southern Dhi Qar province.
Samarra:
#1: Clashes erupted between al Qaeda and the Islamic Army, a Sunni Arab armed group, in Samarra, 100 km (62 miles) north of Baghdad, in which four Islamic Army fighters were killed, police said.
Baiji:
#1: Police killed three gunmen and arrested six others in Baiji, 180 km (112 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
Riyadh:
#1: The body of a policeman was found with gunshot wounds and signs of torture in the town of Riyadh, 60 km (40 miles) southwest of Kirkuk, police said.
Hawija:
#1: Police found a beheaded body near Hawdh 7 village, part of Abbasi district west of Kirkuk yesterday. Police sources said that patrols from Abbasi police station and MNF forces went to the area and found out that the body was booby trapped and defused it.
#2: A gunman was injured in clashes with the a patrol from the 1st battalion, the 2nd Iraqi army brigade on the main street linking between Hawija town and Abbasi district yesterday afternoon. The military sources said that while the patrol was chasing insurgents in a sedan car, it was shot by the insurgent from Hawdh 13 adding that the patrol chased the gunman who is called Dhafir Abdallah Benyan and arrested him after being injured by the soldiers of the patrol.
Kirkuk:
#1: A truck driver was injured when two IEDs exploded that targeted his truck on the street between Kirkuk- Mosul cities yesterday night
Afghanistan:
#1: A Taliban ambush on a police patrol in southern Afghanistan left one officer dead and four others wounded, a police chief said Wednesday. The officers were attacked in Niven district in Kandahar province Tuesday, said area Police Chief Sayed Agha Saqib. There were no reports of Taliban casualties, Saqib said.
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