'PKK main suspects in pipeline bombing'

A natural gas pipeline explosion (file photo)


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=135746§ionid=351020204


Turkey believes Kurdish militants blew up a pipeline carrying natural gas from Iran to neighboring Turkey, forcing the shutdown of the conduit, a Turkish official says.

A powerful blast occurred in the early hours of Wednesday morning at a section of the pipeline near the eastern Turkish town of Dogubayazit in Agri province.

"The explosion is believed to have been carried out by members of the separatist terrorist organization," AFP quoted Agri Governor Ali Yerlikaya as saying in a statement, referring to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The statement, carried by Turkey's Anatolia news agency, said that security forces were looking for the elements behind the attack.

An official at Turkey's state oil and gas company BOTAS said that repairs at the damaged section of the conduit were expected to take about a week, adding that the fire had been extinguished on Wednesday.

The BOTAS official, who was not named in the AFP report, ruled out a supply shortage, saying that gas coming via pipelines from Russia and Azerbaijan was meeting the needs.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and much of the international community, took up arms in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed some 45,000 lives.

The PKK militants launch their attacks from the Qandil Mountains of Iraq in the areas under the control of Kurdistan Regional Government President Massoud Barzani. Israel and Israeli firms also reportedly operate in the Qandil mountain range.