According to the evidence, Dağlıca Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Onur Dirik e-mailed photos and detailed information about the security of the region to Ergenekon suspect Ayşe Asuman Özdemir nearly a year before the attack. These pictures are now included in the 354th folder of evidence backing a 2,455-page indictment against Ergenekon submitted to a court of law last month. The three pictures point to military posts of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in the mountainous Dağlıca region and explain in detail the strategic importance of each hill.A large number of scandals followed the violent attack in Dağlıca, including claims that the General Staff had prior knowledge of the ambush but failed to take necessary precautions. In addition to the deaths of 12 soldiers, eight soldiers were kidnapped and taken to Iraq. The soldiers were arrested upon their return and charged with not resisting the PKK and illegally leaving the country. The General Staff confirmed newspaper claims that the army had prior knowledge of the attack and that the unit in question had been duly warned. Taraf daily published a detailed gendarmerie intelligence report on the attack and wrote that the report was sent to every important command unit. The report detailed the PKK attack’s coordinates.
Other folders compiled by the three state prosecutors working on the Ergenekon investigation indicate links between the organization and the PKK, including pictures of Ergenekon suspect Doğu Perinçek (currently detained) with PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan at a PKK camp in the Bekaa Valley, a letter from PKK leadership thanking Perinçek for his contributions, and Ergenekon plans to overtake the PKK and eliminate it. The testimony of witnesses whose identities are being kept secret for security reasons also indicate links between the two groups.
The capture of the eight soldiers on Oct. 21, 2007 after their unit was ambushed, leaving 12 soldiers dead and 16 others injured led to much controversy. Following the attack authorities stated that the whereabouts of the eight soldiers were unknown. It was later revealed that the soldiers had been kidnapped by the PKK. They were released after two weeks in northern Iraq. News reports and even some officials at the time hinted that the eight men had links to the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) and the PKK. The eight men were jailed upon their return from northern Iraq, but later released. They are currently on trial on charges of disobeying orders in surrendering to PKK terrorists.
Benzer Haberler 
National
