Ongoing turkish operations

The Turkish military said Saturday it attacked 50 to 60 Kurdish rebels inside Iraqi territory, inflicting "significant losses." The military said on its Web site that the rebels were detected following intelligence work and that military operations in the region would continue if necessary.

The attack came a day after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the government had authorized the military to launch a cross-border offensive against Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq at any time. The military said the attack occurred "inside Iraqi borders," southeast of the Turkish town of Cukurca in Hakkari province. Hakkari, where rebels are active, is in the southeast corner of Turkey and shares a border with Iran as well as Iraq.

Time

Turkey attacks Kurdish rebels

Turkish planes and helicopter gunships have bombed Kurdish rebels along the border with Iraq.

Turkey has ramped up military operations along its southern border with Iraq, with aircraft reportedly bombarding the mountainous terrain on Wednesday, part of a growing confrontation that threatens to open a new northern front in the Iraq war.

While intense diplomatic efforts continued to prevent large-scale violence, Turkish military helicopters and warplanes attacked hideouts thought to be used by Kurdish rebels as they travel between Iraq and Turkey, the Turkish state-run Anatolian news agency reported.

Turkey's parliament last week approved a resolution authorizing a military offensive into Iraq to pursue the guerrilla fighters who live along both sides of the border and are accused of killing dozens of Turkish citizens in recent weeks. The prospects for such an invasion appeared to gain momentum after PKK fighters killed at least 12 Turkish soldiers in an ambush Sunday. The PKK also claims to have captured eight Turkish soldiers, and video footage of captives was broadcast on Iraqi and Turkish television stations.

Residents of northern Iraq say that both Turkey and Iran have shelled areas within northern Iraq sporadically for years. Turkey's military also has staged several raids into Iraq in the past under what it says is the right of "hot pursuit" against PKK rebels.

Dozens die in Turkey border clash

At least 12 Turkish soldiers have been killed following an ambush by Kurdish rebels near the Iraqi border - with 32 rebels also killed, officials say.

The PKK guerrilla group claimed it had also taken "several" soldiers hostage. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recalled security officials to Ankara for a crisis meeting. Correspondents say the attacks will increase the pressure on the government to launch raids into Iraq, after it was given clearance to do so by parliament.

On Wednesday, MPs voted overwhelmingly in support of a motion to allow the military to launch offensives across the border, against rebels based in the remote, mountainous north of Iraq.

It followed an escalation of raids by the PKK - the Kurdistan Workers' Party - as part of its armed campaign for Kurdish autonomy. Recent attacks blamed on the group have left more than 30 Turkish soldiers and civilians dead.

About 3,000 PKK fighters are believed to be based in northern Iraq near the Turkish border, says the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Istanbul. There have been regular clashes in the area since earlier in the year, but the latest attack was one of the deadliest for some time. The clashes will increase pressure on the government from the public and the military for a tough response, our correspondent says.

The United States, Turkey's Nato ally, has called for restraint, fearing that any incursions would destabilise Iraq's most peaceful area - the autonomous Kurdish region in the north.

Turkey Ponders Iraq Campaign

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that Turkey would not be deterred by the possible consequences of invading Iraq if it decides to stage a cross-border offensive against Kurdish rebels. "If such an option is chosen, whatever its price, it will be paid," Erdogan told reporters in response to a question about international repercussions of such a decision, which would strain ties with the United States and Iraq. "There could be pros and cons of such a decision, but what is important is our country's interests."

A Turkish soldier was killed by a mine Thursday night on Mt. Gabar in southeastern Sirnak province, where 13 soldiers have been ambushed and killed over the past week, local authorities said. "We are making necessary preparations to be ready in case we decide on a cross-border operations since we don't have patience to lose more time," Erdogan said, adding that Turkey lost 30 people in rebel attacks over the past two weeks.

Erdogan said Turkey has long been seeking the cooperation of Iraq and the United States but there has been no crackdown on the rebel group of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, in Iraq. "If there are terrorists sheltering and attacking Turkey from Iraqi soil and if they don't do anything then we should do something," Erdogan said.

The Turkish parliament was expected to approve a government request to authorize an Iraq campaign as early as next week, after a holiday ending the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. But that does not mean a risky incursion will follow at once. Turkey might give diplomacy, and perhaps economic pressure, more time to work even as public enthusiasm for a military mission mounts.

AFP