Turkey extends operations in Iraq as a fresh attack claims lives

At least three police officers and a civilian have been killed in an attack in Diyarbakir in south-eastern Turkey. Unidentified assailants reportedly opened fire on a police bus on the ouskirts of the mainly Kurdish city. 22 other people, mainly trainee officers, have been injured.

The attack came shortly before the parliament in Ankara approved a government request to extend a mandate to launch military operations against PKK rebels based in Northern Iraq.

An estimated 40 thousand people have been killed since the PKK launched its campaign for an ethnic Kurdish homeland in south eastern Turkey in 1984.

The authorities have come under increased pressure after a cross-border attack killed 17 Turkish soldiers last Friday.

The last Turkish ground incursion into Iraq was in February, but Turkish military aircraft and artillery have been targeting suspected militant outposts since last week’s ambush.