TURKISH-IRANIAN JOINT MILITARY OPERATIONS IN KURDISTAN

"Any dictator would admire the uniformity and obedience of the [U.S.] media."
~ Noam Chomsky.

From last week, Özgür Gündem reported that on 11 August, while the TSK was conducting military operations on Gabar with two Sikorsky helicopters, the HPG opened fire on the helicopters and troops. One Sikorsky was seriously damaged and a number of soldiers exiting the aircraft were killed by HPG snipers.

After being damaged by HPG, the helicopter crew attempted to leave the area of operations as quickly as possible, but the damage caused the aircraft to bank heavily to one side, spilling supplies to the ground.

TSK began an operation on the slopes of Gabar mountain in Çırav, Şırnak. Bombings during the operation caused several forest fires which continued to burn out of control.

Also on 14 August, five truckloads of Turkish soldiers crossed into Iran through the Esendere border gate to begin a joint military operation with Iran. The following day, in the early morning, the Iranian army with TSK began shelling South Kurdistan's Bölgesi region together. The Iranian army bombed Keladiz in Silemani region, and Singeser. Meanwhile, the Turkish military bombed Mount Binave in Diyana, Misoreke, Cinete and Xakurke.

At the time, Özgür Gündem reported no wounded or dead, however two villages were burned and there was other serious damage. This information was confirmed by both HPG and PUK.

At the end of last week, TSK began operations in Çukurca against HPG. There were clashes between HPG and TSK at Kavuşak village on the border separating Turkey and Iraq.

On Saturday, more enemy helicopters came under attack. Özgür Gündem carried a report from Firat News Agency about the downing of an Iranian military helicopter, which has since been permitted as a subject for Western media to publish.

According to Firat, the helicopter was conducting forward observation of the bombardment by Iranian ground forces. It was downed by PJAK in the Qendil region during a period of heavy shelling. Eight Iranian troops were killed with one of them being a lieutenant--contrary to Western reports in which Iran claims the helicopter flew into the side of a mountain because of inclement weather. This was the same claim the Teheran regime used the last time PJAK shot down an Iranian military helicopter.

There had been ongoing joint Turkish-Iranian military action against the Kurdish people, as outlined above. Then, on 16 August, the Teheran regime fired Katyusha rockets at villages in the Qendil region, including Dola Kokê, Ş. Ayhan, Rızgê, Meredo Köyü, Qalatuka, Ş. Harun, Suredê and Ş. Bêrîtan in Xakurkê region.

Britain's Guardian has more in English, including the fact that Guardian reporters observed no evidence of American weaponry at Qendil. But what may be the most interesting observation of all in every Western media report on the downed Iranian military helicopter, is the total absence of any mention of NATO's second largest army, the Turkish army, and its full cooperation with the Teheran regime in these blatant violations of Iraqi territorial integrity.

But, then, Western media was the same media that completely disregarded the Teheran regime's shipping of military weapons to Syria through Turkish territory. For more on that incident, check DozaMe's posts from the end of May and the beginning of June.