US embassy cable - 03ANKARA1401

UNCLAS ANKARA 001401 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT. FOR NEA/NGA AND EUR/SE; 
NSC FOR AMB. KHALILZAD 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, CASC, ASEC, TU, IZ 
SUBJECT: KDP ANKARA OFFICE ATTACKED, NO INJURIES, MINOR 
DAMAGE 
 
 
1. Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Ankara staff member Omar 
Merani called Operation Northern Watch POLAD early March 5 to 
report that the night of March 4, the building housing the 
KDP's Ankara office was attacked with two molotov cocktails. 
Merani said one of the bottles exploded against the exterior 
wall and left some burn marks but did no visible structural 
damage.  The other bottle broke through the window of KDP 
Ankara rep Safeen Dizayee's office but failed to explode.  No 
one was injured in the incident.  Merani, who lives in the 
building with his family, said he had no idea who had done 
this and was not aware of the attack until he woke up this 
morning and found the burn marks and bottle pieces.  Merani 
and his family are AmCits and intend to report this incident 
to the Consulate's ACS unit.  Merani said he would be 
contacting the Turkish MFA this morning to report the 
incident. 
 
 
2. The attack is almost certainly linked to hightened 
tensions between Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds (and the KDP in 
particular) over statements made by the Turkish FM that 
Turkey would send troops to northern Iraq to disarm the 
Kurds, the declaration of the Salahadeen Iraqi opposition 
conference opposing Turkish military intervention in northern 
Iraq, and an anti-Turkey demonstration in Irbil March 3 at 
which Turkish flags were burned. 
PEARSON