US backed Turkish air raids on Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq

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US backed Turkish air raids on Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq

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US embassy in Iraq said commanders had not
approved the attacks, but had been informed before they took
place.Turkish military earlier said the US had given tacit approval by
opening Iraqi airspace for the operation.

Iraqi officials said the bombs hit 10 villages near the border, killing one woman. The PKK reported seven deaths.

Iraq later summoned the Turkish ambassador and demanded a halt to
the strikes, saying they were unacceptable and could seriously harm
relations between the two countries.

United
States backed Turkish air raids on Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq with
intelligence and clearance to enter Iraqi airspace, Turkey's army chief
said.

General Yasar Buyukanit was quoted by the agency as telling the private television channel.

"But what is more important is that the United States last (Sunday)
night opened northern Iraqi airspace to us. By doing that, the US
approved the operation," Buyukanit said.

The general staff announced earlier that Turkish warplanes had
carried out air strikes early on Sunday against positions of the
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants in the Kurdish-run north of
Iraq.

Artillery pounded the targets after the air raids, it said.

He said winter conditions in mountainous northern Iraq would provide
no refuge for the rebels who have been waging a 23-year campaign for
self-rule in Turkey's southeast.

Buyukanit said that Sunday's strikes had been successful and all targets had been destroyed.

He denied that villages along the border had been struck, and said
that the strikes targeted PKK camps that had been previously identified.