U.S. Pentagon giving Turkey intelligence on PKK

Kristin Roberts
Reuters
Monday December 17, 2007

The United States has given Turkey intelligence to track Kurdish fighters hiding in Iraq, a Pentagon spokesman said on Monday, but he would not say whether Washington gave Ankara precise targets used in weekend raids.

U.S. Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman also would not say whether the United States gave Turkey prior approval to use Iraqi air space to conduct the strikes.

"The United States continues to assist with information to the Turkish government that will help them deal with the insurgent situation that they have up there," Whitman said.

The Pentagon had said it was helping Turkey gain the "actionable" intelligence needed for a strike against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants. Actionable intelligence refers to information that can be acted upon, such as data that pinpoints the location of a target for a military strike.

Asked specifically whether the United States gave Turkey targets used in weekend raids, Whitman said he would not "get into details like that."

He said the Pentagon was providing information that would be "helpful in dealing with this insurgent terrorist threat."

When told by reporters that his answer implied the Pentagon had indeed provided such "actionable intelligence," Whitman said, "That's probably OK."

Full article here.

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