Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

Patriotic Union of Kurdistan offices hit by bomb

The Kurdish party office was hit on the day Kurdish rebels said they were ending a five-year unilateral ceasefire and warned tourists and foreigner investors to stay away from Turkey. Patriotic Union of Kurdistan seeks an independent state for Kurds in Northern Iraq.

-Am


Patriotic Union of Kurdistan offices hit by bomb


'25 killed' in huge Baghdad blast Jun 1 2004

Reports say at least 25 people have been killed in a massive bomb blast in central Baghdad near a Kurdish party office, according to Arab TV stations.

Several explosions were heard in central Baghdad, and smoke was seen rising from the offices of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, just outside the green zone headquarters of the US-run coalition.

The Arab language television stations Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya quoted police sources as saying about 10 people were killed. But the information could not immediately be confirmed.

Ambulances raced to the scene and US troops kept people back. Television footage showed debris and a charred wall of a building.

Another blast, followed by gunfire, was heard about an hour later, sending a mushroom cloud 100 feet billowing into the dusty air hanging over the city. Coalition aircraft could be heard flying over Baghdad.

Eleven Iraqis were killed and 26 were wounded in an explosion near the US military base in Beiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad, military spokesman Captain Bill Coppernoll said.


http://icsouthlondon.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/nationalnews/tm_objectid=14293681%26method=full%26site....



Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)
Official Site

Orientation
Kurdish Ethnic Opposition Group.



Platform
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan seeks an independent state for Kurds in Northern Iraq. Was based in Damascus, and aligned itself closely with the Syrian government, which trained & armed it. PUK initially avoided siding overtly with Iran, and thus Libya, who also provided them with training, acted as the main intermediary. PUK is supportive of US plans to invade Iraq, and calles for US cooperation with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan forces in order to liberate Iraq. Subsequently, PUK leadership offered to raise a force of 100,000 men in order to help the US-led Coalition to overthrow Saddam Hussein.



Leadership
Led by is Jalal Talabani.



Funding
Used to be funded by Syria, and Libya. At present received some funding from Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.





History
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is the other main Kurdish party, which broke away from the Kurdistan Democratic Party in 1975. It signed a cooperation agreement with Iran in October 1986, vowing to fight together until the overthrow of the Baath government in Iraq. Has drawn away from Iranian sponsorship and towards Saudi Arabian and Turkish support. Fought a war with its rival, Kurdistan Democratic Party, in 1996, when KDP allied with the Iraqi forces in an attempt to eliminate PUK. The PUK and KDP are currently cohabiting, though whether they will continue to do so remains to be seen. Like KDP, PUK is established on the ground in the Northern Iraq and claims some 4,000 fighters.


http://www.iraqinews.com/party_partriotic_union_of_kurdistan.shtml