Kurds outraged by Turkish air strike

Istanbul has seen mass protests over the death of 35 Kurds in a special military operation, ITAR-TASS reports.

The Turkish Air Forces attacked a group of 50 people crossing the Turkish-Iraqi border at the Shirnak Province. 35 people died, one was injured. The group contained teenagers. The military were holding a counter-terrorism operation, but the killed people turned out to be smugglers transporting diesel fuel and cigarettes from Northern Iraq.

The Turkish military said that there were no villages in the area attacked, but it had high extremism activity. The Turkish recon services also informed that there had been information on a group of militants from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) transport a large amount of weapons and explosives. A Turkish drone sited a group of border violators. 30 people of the group belonged to a single family. A relative of the family, Mehmet Ali Kaya, explained that they were smugglers. Usually smugglers work in groups of 5-6. Kaya says that the military should have contacted the local forces to know about smuggling.

Istanbul saw mass protests right after the operation. Dozens were arrested. Many started open fights with the police, throwing rocks, sticks and Molotov cocktails. Tear gas was used to stop the disorders.