A Turkish parliamentary commission has tasked a sub-commission with investigating deadly airstrike by Turkish fighter jets last month in Turkish-Iraqi border that mistakenly killed 35 smugglers and other villagers, Today's Zaman reported.
Turkish warplanes mistakenly killed 35 smugglers and other villagers in an operation that targeted Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorists in Iraq late December. The government later acknowledged that the victims were smugglers, not terrorists.
The military issued a statement saying the warplanes had targeted the group based on intelligence that suggested a group of armed terrorists would be heading towards the Turkish border to stage attacks on the military.
The victims were from the villages of Ortasu, Gülyazı and Ortabağ in the province's Uludere district. The government has pledged financial compensation for the families of the victims.
Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Sakarya deputy Ayhan Sefer Üstün presided over a meeting of Human Rights Commission of the Parliament where the deputies discussed proposals presented by AK Party, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). The commission decided to set up a sub-commission to investigate the Uludere incident.