Erdogan 'Regrets' Death of Kurdish Civilians in Air Strike

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed regret Friday for the death of 35 Kurdish civilians in an air strike, saying it had been determined they were smugglers and not separatist rebels.

Speaking to journalists in Istanbul, Erdogan offered his condolences to the families of the victims for what he called an "unfortunate and distressing" incident.

"Images transmitted by drones showed a group of 40 people in the area, it was impossible to say who they were," he said. "Afterwards it was determined they were smugglers transporting cigarettes and fuel on mules."

In his first reaction to the strike by Turkish air force F-16s on the border with Iraq late Wednesday, Erdogan said that "no state deliberately bombs its own people."

He said that separatist rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) had used the same route and methods to bring weapons into Turkey to mount attacks, and called for critics to await the result of an official inquiry.