A Turkish military helicopter crashed in Siirt province, killing all 17 special forces soldiers on board. PKK militants kidnapped three teachers in Mardin province. Six politicians joined some 700 Kurdish inmates in a hunger strike calling for PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan to be allowed to see his lawyers.
Special forces killed three PKK militants and destroyed PKK bases in Beytüşşbep in Hakkari province. Authorities searched an Armenian plane carrying humanitarian aid to Aleppo before allowing it to continue on to Syria.
Turkish commandos conducted raids on Kurdistan Workers’ Party bases located inside Iraq near the Turkish border. It remains unclear whether Turkey plans to ask NATO for Patriot missiles to protect the NATO radar system in Kürecik in eastern Turkey.
Syria envoy warns country could turn into Somalia
A Turkish court is trying four former Israeli military officers in absentia for the deaths of nine Turks on a Gaza-bound ship in 2010. Israel dismissed the trial as propaganda. The Turkish Justice Ministry denied allegations that some 76 journalists have been jailed this year as part of a governmental effort “to silence critical journalists […]
Libya the main funder of the Syrian opposition
Mullah Sangeen Zadran, the Taliban’s shadow governor for Paktika, asks that Allah “accepts the martyrdom of the Turkish, Kurdish and other brothers who die for this cause” in Afghanistan.
A car bomb detonated near a police vehicle in Semdinli, killing a child and injuring 18 other people; Prime Minister Erdogan blamed PKK rebels for the blast. The military has taken over rebel hideouts in the Altin mountains.
German quits ‘unhygienic, drug-using’ Taliban
Influx of Iraqi Shiites to Syria Widens War’s Scope
Gunbattles flare in Lebanon as political crisis deepens
Turkey tries pianist Fazil Say for insulting Islam
Celebrated Turkish pianist Fazil Say was charged with inciting hatred and insulting Muslim values for sending Twitter messages that mocked Islamic extremism; he faces trial in 2013. A government official claimed that Turkey is the only Muslim country with the potential to succeed in the defense industry.
Qari Ayyub Bashir is the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan’s top financier; Maulawi Adam Khan Achekzai is a senior Taliban IED expert and leader; and Aamir Ali Chaudhry is an electronics and explosives expert for the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan who was involved in the Times Square plot.
Authorities grounded an Armenian plane that was carrying food for Syrian Armenians, then allowed the flight to continue on to Aleppo. The Turkish foreign ministry criticized Armenia’s decision to resume flights to an airport in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Accusations mount of Hezbollah fighting in Syria
Jihadists Receiving Most Arms Sent to Syrian Rebels
Can FSA leadership be relevant again in Syria?
Prime Minister Erdogan condemned UN Security Council inaction on the Syrian conflict and called for reform of the council. German Foreign Minister Westerwelle said Germany supported Turkey’s interception of a plane suspected of carrying weapons to Syria.
Syria’s Islamist rebels join forces against Assad
The Foreign Ministry denied reports that US special forces troops were on Turkish soil near the Syrian border. Prime Minister Erdogan maintained that the jet intercepted in Turkish airspace yesterday carried ammunition and military equipment from the Russian arms export agency for delivery to the Syrian Defence Ministry.
Interview with Vladimir Yakunin on Tensions Between Russia and West: ‘Russia and the West are drifting apart’
Turkish jets forced a Syrian passenger plane flying from Moscow over Turkish airspace to land for inspection. Media reports said the plane was carrying military communications equipment, including wireless sets and jammers, as well as “missile parts.” The Foreign Ministry prohibited Turkish civilian flights in Syrian airspace. Turkey has already prohibited use of its airspace […]
Prime Minister Erdogan warned Syria that Turkey would continue to retaliate for Syrian attacks on Turkish soil. An additional 25 F-16 fighter jets were deployed near the Syrian border. NATO said it had plans to defend Turkey if necessary against Syria.
Westerners With Syrian Ties Trickle In to Help Rebels
On Oct. 3, two Tunisian citizens were detained at the Istanbul Atatürk Airport as they tried to enter Turkey with false passports, allegedly in connection to the killing of the US Ambassador to Libya.
Citing US Fears, Arab Allies Limit Aid to Syrian Rebels
Analysis: could Turkey’s decision to shell Syria mean intervention is on its way?
Turkey’s antiterrorism squad arrested two Tunisian citizens at Istanbul’s Atatürk airport last night who are suspects in the killing of US Ambassador Chris Stevens in Libya. The Syrian rebel Farouk Brigade assisted the Turkish military in targeting a Syrian forward operating base near Tal Abyad.
Syria – Cajoling, Drugging and More as Rebels Try to Draw Defectors