The Turkish military said that its warplanes hit targets of the PKK guerillas in the Zap region of northern Iraq Oct. 12. The Turkish General Staff said in a statement that this was the seventh time that Turkey's warplanes have bombed PKK targets in Iraq since Oct. 4. Rather than protesting the raids, Iraq's ambassador to Turkey Sabah Umran Oct. 14 pledged his government's support in cracking down on the PKK.

A coast guard patrol from the independent Somali region of Puntland on Oct. 14 freed the 11-man crew of a hijacked ship and captured the 10 pirates who seized the vessel last week. Puntland's special Rescue Commando Forces raided the Panama-flagged ship—the Wail—in the Gulf of Aden, Puntland Foreign Minister Ali Abdi Aware told CNN, adding that all of the rescued crew are now safe.

One of India's most isolated tribes, the Dongria Kondh, is preparing to stop British FTSE 100 company Vedanta from mining aluminum ore on their sacred mountain, after police and hired thugs forced protesters to dismantle a barricade over the weekend. About 150 people had blocked the road in Orissa state Oct. 8 when hearing that Vedanta intended to start survey work for the planned mine which would destroy an ecologically vital hill, and the Dongria Kondh's most sacred site. Vedanta employees visited the blockade repeatedly, threatening the protesters. On Oct. 10 the villagers gave in and took down the barricade, but about 100 are still at the side of the road, blocking traffic when Vedanta vehicles approach.

Indians from the Enawene Nawe tribe in the Brazilian Amazon occupied and shut down the site of a huge hydroelectric dam Oct. 11, destroying equipment, in an attempt to save the river that runs through their land. The Enawene Nawe say the 77 dams to be built on the River Juruena will pollute the water and stop the fish reaching their spawning grounds. Fish is crucial to the Enawene Nawe's diet as they do not eat red meat. It also plays a vital part in their rituals. "If the fish get sick and die so will the Enawene Nawe," said one member of the tribe.

Based on local medical examiner reports, the Tucson-based Human Rights Coalition recently reported that the number of unidentified bodies found in the Arizona-Sonora border region is on the upswing. According to the immigrant rights advocacy group, 183 people were found dead in Arizona's Pima, Yuma and Cochise counties during the fiscal year that ran from October 1, 2007, to September 30, 2008. Of the recovered bodies, 119 were [identified as] males and 45 [as] females. Although some victims were identified as nationals of Mexican, Guatemalan, Salvadoran, Honduran and Peruvian origin, more than half, or 59%, were unidentified.

Gunmen killed six young men the night of Oct. 11 at a family party in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juárez. Most of the victims were shot; one was beaten to death, and one body was found wrapped in a blanket. Investigators found four bodies on a sidewalk in the Juárez Nuevo colonia (neighborhood). Two other bodies were found inside the home's front patio. This brought the toll in presumably drug-related violence in Juárez to at least 25 over the weekend—and to more than 1,070 since the beginning of the year. (El Paso Times, AP, Oct. 12)

Iran's top diplomat in Bolivia says his country will open two health clinics in the Andean nation as a base for future Red Crescent projects in South America. The agreement was signed by Iranian business attaché Hojjatollah Soltani and the Bolivian Health Minister, Ramiro Tapia, in the presence of President Evo Morales at the Presidential Palace in La Paz Oct. 10. Soltani signed the agreement on behalf of the Iranian Red Crescent.

At least 18 were killed, including 12 soldiers, when Sendero Luminoso guerillas ambushed a Peruvian army convoy late Oct. 9, military sources say. A child was among six civilians killed in the ambush on four trucks transporting troops and civilians to Cochabamba Grande base in Huancavelica region. Authorities said the convoy was passing through the Apurimac-Ene River Valley (VRAE) in the area of Tintaypunco, Tayacaja province, when the guerillas detonated a roadside bomb and then strafed the stricken vehicles with machine-gun fire. Those troops not killed in the blast fought the guerillas for hours before they retreated back into the jungle in what was the deadliest clash between Sendero and the security forces in a decade.