The World - News from March 25, 1988

Suspected Iranian warplanes bombed a checkpoint on the Iraqi-Turkish border in the first such attack on Turkish territory in the Persian Gulf War, Turkish officials said. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said an unidentified aircraft dropped two bombs just before dawn near the Habur border checkpoint in Mardin province in southeastern Turkey. Minutes later, another warplane dropped five bombs in the same area, he said. No deaths or injuries were reported. Reports from the nearby town of Silope said the aircraft came under fire from Iraqi gunners before dropping their bombs. Iran’s embassy in Ankara denied that its planes hit Turkish soil.