A new attack in eastern Turkey on the gas pipeline transporting natural gas from Iran has forced Ankara to again ask for increased supplies from Russia and Azerbaijan.
PKK guerrillas are again being held responsible for the second attack on the pipeline this month only days after it had been repaired. An explosion hit the pipeline near Agri on 18 October while a convoy of Turkish soldiers was passing, wounding 28. It emphasizes the pipeline’s value as a target for the PKK, which has conducted a guerrilla war in southeast Turkey since 1984. An explosion along the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline in early October also caused a temporary halt in shipments from Azerbaijan (MEES, 19 October). (CONTINUED - 333 WORDS)
