Turkey To Compensate Iraqi Victims Of Air Strike

Mourners carry the coffins of the Kurdish victims of a Turkish air raid in its Sirnak province on December 30.

Turkey's deputy prime minister says his government will compensate the families of 35 civilians mistakenly killed last month in an air strike aimed at Kurdish rebels.

Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said compensation will be paid to the families of the victims in a few days but did not specify a date.

Last week, Turkish F-16 jets, guided by intelligence from drones, hit a group of Kurdish smugglers in northern Iraq, leading to one of the highest single-day civilian death tolls in Turkey's decades-old conflict with the rebels.

The deaths provoked several days of violent demonstrations in mostly Kurdish cities in the region.

compiled from agency reports