Turkey's military carried out airstrikes late Wednesday in the mountainous border region with Iraq and says it was targeting Kurdish rebels. Local officials report 35 people were killed and say the victims were civilian smugglers, not fighters.
Predictably, Iran has rejected a U.S. warning against blocking oil shipments through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, as a war of words between the two countries continues.
At least 25 more Syrian citizens killed today, as the death toll arises unchecked, even as Arab League monitors are in country.
A police surgeon who testified against Pakistani security forces is dead, gunned down by unknown assailants.
The United States Thursday announced a major aircraft sale to Saudi Arabia amid tensions in the Gulf over Iran’s threat to close the Strait of Hormuz if nuclear sanctions against it are tightened.
Details after the break.
urkey's military carried out airstrikes late Wednesday in the mountainous border region with Iraq and says it was targeting Kurdish rebels. Local officials report 35 people were killed and say the victims were civilian smugglers, not fighters.
The number of dead from the airstrike has been rising. The charred remains of bodies are slowly being recovered from the mountainous border region.
Turkey's military command says the airstrike was aimed at Kurdish rebels of the PKK who frequently enter Turkey from bases in northern Iraq.
A local mayor claims those killed were smugglers, however, bringing in diesel fuel. A spokesman for the PKK also is reported to have said the dead were smugglers.
The Turkish chief of staff said the air force carried out the attack after receiving intelligence from U.S. drone surveillance aircraft, which have been leased to Turkey as part of Washington's increasing support for Ankara's fight against the PKK.
Journalist Metehan Demir, with the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, said the Predator drones are now seen as key to Turkey's battle against the rebels.
"The biggest problem for Turkey in fighting against terrorism, is infiltration of PKK terrorists from northern Iraq. Turkey has been trying to take measures to stop the infiltration but always failed. Predators are one key instrument to survey the area from the air - also some of them armed," said Demir.
Kurdish elected officials in southeast Turkey have criticized the latest air strike. They say they had warned the security forces of the presence of smugglers in the region and a drop in PKK activity.
Iran
Iran has rejected a U.S. warning against blocking oil shipments through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, as a war of words between the two countries continues.
Iran's semi-official Fars news agency Thursday quoted Revolutionary Guard commander Hossein Salami as saying Iran can carry out its own "defensive strategies."
Tehran threatened earlier this week to block the entrance to the Persian Gulf if the West imposes sanctions targeting Iran's oil exports. Such a move by the West would add to several rounds of sanctions already imposed on Iran over its controversial nuclear program.
More than one-third of the world's tanker-borne oil supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz. A closure could temporarily cut off some oil supplies and impact the price of oil worldwide.
The Pentagon has said interfering with the passage of vessels through the strait will not be tolerated.
A recent United Nations report said Iran appears to be secretly working on designing a nuclear weapon - something Tehran denies. European Union ministers have said that a decision on further economic sanctions, including a boycott of Iranian oil, will be made in the coming weeks. The vast majority of Iran's foreign revenue comes from oil exports.
Separately, a spokeswoman for the Bahrain-based U.S. Fifth Fleet told VOA in an email that the flow of goods through the strait is "vital to regional and global prosperity." Lieutenant Rebecca Rebarich said the U.S. Navy is ready to "counter malevolent actions" to ensure navigation freedom.
Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi said Tuesday that if Iranian oil is banned, "then not a drop of oil will pass through the Strait of Hormuz."
Iran's warnings come as its naval forces continue a 10-day exercise in the strait and nearby waters that began on Saturday.
Syria
Activists say Syrian forces killed at least 25 people on Thursday as Arab League monitors fanned out across the country to check the government's compliance with a pledge to end its crackdown on dissent.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says security forces opened fire on thousands of protesters in the Damascus suburb of Douma, killing at least four people. Some residents said Arab League observers were in the area at the time.
Activists say Thursday's violence also includes at least six deaths in Hama. The central city has been a flashpoint of anti-government unrest.
Meanwhile, the government says Arab League monitors "met a number of citizens" in neighborhoods in Damascus and Homs as well as the Daraa and Hama regions.
About 60 monitors are in the country to check the government's promise to halt violence against protesters and release political detainees. The monitors say they will make some unannounced visits.
On Wednesday, activists and rights groups said government forces had killed at least 39 people since the monitors arrived Monday, including six people shot in Hama.
Some residents and activists raised concerns that the Arab observers were neither properly qualified nor independent. Residents of the hard-hit district of Baba Amr in Homs refused to allow observers in because army officers were with them. The standoff ended when the officers withdrew.
Syrian authorities agreed to the Arab League observers under international pressure and threats of Arab sanctions. The plan requires Syrian authorities to give the monitors freedom of movement except for sensitive military sites.
Pakistan
A police surgeon who testified against Pakistani security forces is dead, gunned down by unknown assailants.
Police officials say Baqir Shah was shot and killed Thursday in Quetta. A senior police official said the gunmen fired three shots at Shah from close range. He made no immediate comments about the motive.
Shah had conducted autopsies on foreigners who had been killed by police and complained of constant death threats. He was severely beaten after he ruled Pakistani forces shot and killed a group of five men and women from Russia and Tajikistan earlier this year.
Those in charge of the security team had said the five were suicide bombers who died when they detonated a grenade at a checkpoint near Quetta, the capital of southwestern Baluchistan province. Shah's autopsy found the men and women had actually been shot to death.
Saudi Arabia
The United States Thursday announced a major aircraft sale to Saudi Arabia amid tensions in the Gulf over Iran’s threat to close the Strait of Hormuz if nuclear sanctions against it are tightened. The State Department said the threat reflects recent “irrational” behavior by the Tehran government.
The nearly $30 billion sale to Saudi Arabia of advanced-model U.S. F-15 fighter jets and associated weapons systems had been planned for more than a year.
But the elaborate formal announcement of the sale was a pointed reminder of U.S. support for a key regional ally, just as Iran is stirring tensions in the Gulf with its threat against the critical shipping route.
At a news briefing, Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Andrew Shapiro said the F-15 deal is designed to help Saudi Arabia “address threats to its sovereignty,” from Iran and elsewhere. “As you know the Middle East right now, there are a number of threats. They (Saudi Arabia) have had border security issues, they’ve had threats in the Gulf as well. Clearly one of the threats that they face, as well as other countries in the region, is Iran. But this is not solely directed towards Iran. This is directed towards meeting our partner Saudi Arabia’s defense needs," he said.
Under the arms package, Saudi Arabia will acquire 84 top-of-the-line F-15 model SA aircraft while 70 F-15’s already in the Saudi inventory will be upgraded to a similar capability.
Associated weapons systems in the package include Harpoon anti-ship and Harm anti-radar missiles that could conceivably figure in a military crisis that threatened Gulf navigation.
All content based on VOA News reports.
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