Israeli Eitan (Heron) drones aiding Kurdish PKK activities in Turkey

January 18, 2012 – Sources: jpost.com | ekurd.net | debka.com | Agencies - Heron UAVs helped PKK set up bases in Hatay province, Turkish intelligence report says according to ‘Today’s Zaman’: Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles seen hovering over parts Turkey have gathered intelligence for the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK), Turkey’s Today’s Zaman reported Tuesday according to Turkish intelligence agencies.

The report claimed that Israeli Heron drones helped the PKK gather information on the Hatay province, bordering Syria, to determine the locations for establishing training bases. Turkish military sources reported sighting an Israeli Eitan (Heron) drone in the sky on January 4, 2011 above the Turkish Hawk Brigade 14 stationed on the northern Syrian border at Kirikhan in the Hatay district of southern Turkey. The Israeli drone was said to have hovered over the encampment for four hours. Today’s Zaman failed to say whether the Turkish report implicated Israel in aiding the PKK in any specific attack, many of which result in the deaths of Turkish soldiers.

It claimed, however, that Kenan Yıldızbakan, a PKK member that organized an assault on a naval base in 2010, had visited Israel a number of times, lending to suspicions of collusion.