VZCZCXRO8660
RR RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHAK #4885 2351244
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 231244Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8140
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 1142
RUEKDAI/DIA WASHDC
RUEHAK/USDAO ANKARA TU
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC//USDP:PDUSDP/ISA:EUR/ISA:NESA//
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RUEUITH/ODC ANKARA TU
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J-3/J-5//
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHMFIUU/425ABS IZMIR TU//CC//
RHMFIUU/39ABG INCIRLIK AB TU
RUEPGAB/MNF-I C2X BAGHDAD IZ

UNCLAS ANKARA 004885 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PTER TU IZ
SUBJECT: TURKEY: PKK VIOLENCE REPORT, PKK BLOWS UP SECTION 
OF IRAN-TURKEY NATURAL GAS PIPELINE IN TURKEY 
 
REF: ANKARA 4778 AND PREVIOUS 
 
¶1. (SBU) This is another in a series of periodic reports on 
PKK violence in Turkey (see reftels).  Our primary sources 
for these reports are mainstream Turkish press services, such 
as the Anatolian News Agency, and international wire 
services.  While these sources are more reliable than most 
Turkish press sources, they are not necessarily 
unimpeachable.  Press services sympathetic to the PKK, such 
as Neu-Isenburg People's Defense Forces and Firat News 
Agency, tend to report higher numbers of Turkish Security 
Forces casualties. 
 
¶2. (U) According to press reports, two members of the Turkish 
Security Forces were killed and four were wounded over the 
period August 14 - August 20.  Two PKK terrorists were killed 
and nine were arrested.  One civilian was killed in a land 
mine explosion, three were wounded by a blast in Istanbul, 
and two construction workers employed in a project in Bingol 
province were captured and then released two days later.  The 
PKK also claimed responsibility for blowing up a section of 
the Iran-Turkey natural gas pipeline on August 19 in the 
eastern city of Agri.  The initial blast felt up to 25 miles 
away.  (Since May 2005 the PKK has allegedly sabotaged 
Turkish natural gas pipelines three times out of six 
attempts.  Before the August 19 incident, the last successful 
pipeline bombing was reported on May 23, also in Agri 
province.)  In the same period, Turkish forces seized 5 kg of 
plastic explosives and one light anti-tank weapon (LAW), 
among other weapons of unspecified numbers and types. 
 
¶3. (U) We estimate that in 2006, approximately twenty-four 
civilians and up to 196 members of the Turkish Security 
Forces have perished as a result of PKK violence. 
 
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON