'Israeli drones aiding PKK activities in Turkey'
By JPOST.COM STAFF
LAST UPDATED: 01/17/2012 21:02
Heron UAVs helped PKK set up bases in Hatay province, Turkish intelligence report says according to 'Today's Zaman'
PKK Kurdish Rebel Photo: Warrick Page
Israeli
unmanned aerial vehicles seen hovering over parts Turkey have gathered intelligence for the Kurdistan Worker's Party
(PKK), Turkey's Today's Zaman reported Tuesday according to Turkish intelligence agencies.
The
report claimed that Israeli Heron drones helped the PKK gather
information on the Hatay province, bordering Syria, to determine the locations for establishing training bases.
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Today's Zaman
failed to say whether the Turkish report implicated Israel in aiding
the PKK in any specific attack, many of which result in the deaths of
Turkish soldiers.
It claimed, however, that Kenan Yıldızbakan, a PKK member that organized
an assault on a naval base in 2010, had visited Israel a number of
times, lending to suspicions of collusion.
The PKK is considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
The decades-long conflict between Turkey and Kurdish separatists located largely along
the Turkish border with Iraq and Syria has resulted in the deaths of
tens of thousands of Kurds, and over 10,000 Turkish soldiers and police.
The Turkish intelligence report underlines the low in diplomatic
relations between Israel and Turkey, which nosedived when Israel
announced it would not apologize officially for the deaths of nine
Turkish activists aboard the Mavi Marmara.
Turkey downgraded military, political and economic ties with the Jewish state in the wake of the diplomatic row.