Posted on 09/25/2006 9:05:24 AM PDT by TexKat
ANKARA, Turkey - A Kurdish guerrilla group claimed responsibility for a weekend bomb attack that wounded 17 people in eastern Turkey, a pro-Kurdish news agency reported Monday.
The armed wing of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, said on its Web site that it was behind Saturday's attack near a police guest house in the eastern city of Igdir, according to the Firat news agency.
The group also claimed responsibility for another bombing Saturday that derailed a freight train in southeastern Turkey.
Saturday's attacks coincided with complaints by imprisoned rebel chief Abdullah Ocalan about his prison conditions.
The attacks also follow a recent declaration of cooperation between Turkey, the United States and Iraq in fighting the guerrillas, who are based in northern Iraq.
The guerrillas have intensified their attacks, carrying out bombings in Mediterranean resorts that killed at least three people and wounded dozens. One of the attacks, a minibus bombing in the popular resort town of Marmaris wounded 10 Britons in late August.
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani was quoted Monday as saying the PKK could declare a new cease-fire in the coming days. Talabani spoke to Turkey's state-owned Anatolia news agency during a visit to the United States.
Officials investigate the site of a bomb explosion in the eastern Turkish city of Igdir September 23, 2006. Twelve people, including three policemen, were injured when a bomb in a truck exploded in front of a police building in Igdir, police officials said on Saturday. REUTERS/Ihlas News Agency (TURKEY)
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