Ankara won't apologize for deadly raid

Turkish officials said they wouldn't yet apologize for an air raid last week that killed 25 villagers but noted the victims' families would be compensated. The Turkish military last week expressed condolences for those killed in an airstrike along the border with Iraq. More than two dozen villagers were killed in a military strike intended to target militants with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, known by its Turkish initials PKK. Turkish officials said they were investigating the incident. The attack was reportedly launched after video from surveillance drones indicated Kurdish militant activity in the area. Leaders from the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party described the attack as a "massacre," equating Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan with Syrian President Bashar Assad. Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said the government would compensate families of the victims with an undisclosed sum in order to "alleviate pains," Turkish daily newspaper Today's Zaman reports. He said the government wasn't yet apologizing for the incident because investigations into the botched raid were ongoing. The opposition Republican People's Party called on the government to "immediately" issue a formal apology for the raid.