KDP ANKARA OFFICE ATTACKED, NO INJURIES, MINOR

UNCLAS ANKARA 001401

SIPDIS


DEPT. FOR NEA/NGA AND EUR/SE;
NSC FOR AMB. KHALILZAD


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM CASC ASEC TU IZ
SUBJECT: KDP ANKARA OFFICE ATTACKED, NO INJURIES, MINOR
DAMAGE



1. Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Ankara staff member Omar
Merani called Operation Northern Watch POLAD early March 5 to
report that the night of March 4, the building housing the
KDP's Ankara office was attacked with two molotov cocktails.
Merani said one of the bottles exploded against the exterior
wall and left some burn marks but did no visible structural
damage. The other bottle broke through the window of KDP
Ankara rep Safeen Dizayee's office but failed to explode. No
one was injured in the incident. Merani, who lives in the
building with his family, said he had no idea who had done
this and was not aware of the attack until he woke up this
morning and found the burn marks and bottle pieces. Merani
and his family are AmCits and intend to report this incident
to the Consulate's ACS unit. Merani said he would be
contacting the Turkish MFA this morning to report the
incident.



2. The attack is almost certainly linked to hightened
tensions between Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds (and the KDP in
particular) over statements made by the Turkish FM that
Turkey would send troops to northern Iraq to disarm the
Kurds, the declaration of the Salahadeen Iraqi opposition
conference opposing Turkish military intervention in northern
Iraq, and an anti-Turkey demonstration in Irbil March 3 at
which Turkish flags were burned.
PEARSON