Kurd Rebels Release 8 Turkish Soldiers

Nov 05, 05:38 AM

Current Headlines: By Bobby Caina Calvan, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.

Nov. 5--SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq -- On the eve of critical talks between President Bush and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Kurdish rebels on Sunday released eight Turkish soldiers that they had captured nearly two weeks ago.

Guerrillas from the Kurdistan Workers' Party, known as the PKK, surrendered the eight men to local Iraqi Kurdish government officials at about 8 a.m., a PKK spokesman said. The soldiers were then taken to a U.S. military facility in Irbil, the regional Kurdish capital, where they were turned over to Turkish officials.

Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, witnessed the handover at Irbil. But no U.S. officials were present for the initial handover, which the PKK spokesman, Abdul Rahman al-Chadarchi, said took place "in a location under the control of the Workers' party."

That ceremony was televised in Iraqi Kurdistan and showed PKK delegates meeting with Iraqi Kurdish officials and signing documents while seated at a table.

U.S. officials have been working feverishly in recent days to forestall Turkish threats to send troops into northern Iraq to root out PKK guerrillas, who have killed 30 Turkish soldiers in the past month. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spent two days in Turkey last week in a failed effort to dissuade the Turks from military action.

On Oct. 17, the Turkish parliament authorized its military to take action against the PKK inside Iraq. Four days later, PKK guerrillas attacked a Turkish patrol, killing 12 soldiers and capturing the eight -- and stoking Turkish calls for a military response.

In the face of U.S. pressure, however, Erdogan promised not to order any response until after today's meeting with Bush.

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