Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06ANKARA4999
2006-08-29 14:30:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Ankara
Cable title:  

TURKEY: PKK VIOLENCE REPORT -- FOUR DEAD AND

Tags:  PREL PTER TU IZ 
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VZCZCXRO6158
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHAK #4999 2411430
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 291430Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8273
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 0843
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN PRIORITY 4169
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RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PRIORITY 5477
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV PRIORITY 0086
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE PRIORITY 1253
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL PRIORITY 1172
RUEKDAI/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHAK/USDAO ANKARA TU PRIORITY
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RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEUITH/ODC ANKARA TU PRIORITY
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UNCLAS ANKARA 004999 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PTER TU IZ
SUBJECT: TURKEY: PKK VIOLENCE REPORT -- FOUR DEAD AND
SCORES INJURED IN LAST WEEK

REF: A. ANKARA 4885 AND PREVIOUS


B. ANKARA 4953

UNCLAS ANKARA 004999

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PTER TU IZ
SUBJECT: TURKEY: PKK VIOLENCE REPORT -- FOUR DEAD AND
SCORES INJURED IN LAST WEEK

REF: A. ANKARA 4885 AND PREVIOUS


B. ANKARA 4953


1. (SBU) This is another in a series of periodic reports on
PKK violence in Turkey (see reftels). Our primary sources
for these reports are mainstream Turkish press services, such
as the Anatolian News Agency, and international wire
services. While these sources are more reliable than most
Turkish press sources, they are not necessarily
unimpeachable. Press services sympathetic to the PKK, such
as Neu-Isenburg People's Defense Forces and Firat News
Agency, tend to report higher numbers of Turkish Security
Forces casualties.


2. (U) Summary. A string of bombings, in addition to other
incidents of possible PKK-linked violence, occurred over the
August 21 - August 28 period, resulting in four deaths and
scores of wounded civilians. According to press reports, one
of the four civilian deaths during this period occurred
during a clash with the PKK in Bitlis on August 24 that also
injured one member of the Turkish Security Forces and a
civilian. On August 21, one civilian was wounded by a
homemade bomb exploding in Izmir. Fourteen PKK suspects were
arrested, including an individual suspected of planning a
bomb attack in Izmir. A woodcutter was kidnapped in the
eastern province of Bingol. In the same period, Turkish
forces seized 9.2 kg of plastic explosives. End Summary.


3. (U) Two bomb explosions in Adana August 25 resulted in
four civilians injured. Three bombings late in the evening
of August 27 and in the early morning hours of August 28
resulted in 21 injured civilians in Marmaris, among them 10
British tourists. Two bombs in Istanbul resulted in six
injured. On August 28, an explosion in the resort town of
Antalya left three Turkish citizens dead and up to 87
wounded. Among the wounded are reportedly 13 foreign
tourists, including four Israelis, three Germans, three
Russians, two Dutch, and a Jordanian. The Antalya bomb
exploded near motorcycles parked in front of a business
center located approximately 80 meters from the Russian
Consulate. The total number of civilians reportedly injured
in the Adana, Istanbul, Marmaris, and Antalya bombings could
be as high as 118. The Kurdish Freedom Falcons (TAK),a
group affiliated with the PKK, has taken responsibility for
the Marmaris and Istanbul bombings (ref b).


4. (U) Commenting on the explosion in Antalya, the head of
the Russian State Duma International Relations Committee
Konstantin Kosachyov remarked to Russian press on August 28
that "There are no grounds to conclude that the Russian
Consulate was the target of the blast" or aimed at damaging
Russian-Turkish relations. Instead, Kosachyov stated his
belief that the recent series of bombings in Turkey have been
protests against the GOT's policy of closer integration with
the European Union. The European Commissioner for
Enlargement Olli Rehn released a statement condemning the
bombings on August 28.


5. (U) We estimate that so far in 2006, approximately
twenty-eight civilians and up to 196 members of the Turkish
Security Forces have perished as a result of PKK violence.

Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/

WILSON