Turkish troops fighting in Iraq

2007-12-01 18:27

Ankara - The Turkish army said it inflicted "heavy losses" on a group of about 50 members of the armed Kurdish separatist movement PKK in northern Iraq on Saturday.

The army said it used artillery and air strikes against a group of "50 to 60 terrorists" southeast of the Turkish town of Cukurca in Hakkari province on the Turkey-Iraq border.

"If necessary other army units will intervene in the region," it added.

Tensions along the Turkish-Iraqi border increased after October 21, when PKK militants ambushed a military unit, killing 12 soldiers and capturing eight. The captives were released in November.

Flurry of diplomatic activity

Soon after, the Turkish government secured parliamentary approval for cross-border military operations into northern Iraq. The United States and the Iraqi government are keen to avert a large scale incursion.

In recent weeks, about 100 000 Turkish soldiers have been deployed along the border with Iraq, in the mainly Kurdish south-east region of Anatolia.

Saturday's operation comes days after the cabinet of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan authorised the army to carry out a cross-border operation against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq - a month after the green light from parliament.

The Turkish parliament's decision last month provoked a flurry of diplomatic activity between Turkey, Iraq and the United States.

Baghdad promised to rein in the Kurdish rebels in the north of the country, and in early November President George W Bush said the US would provide "real-time" information on PKK movements from its satellites.

Ankara nevertheless made it clear that it would be keeping its options open and refused to rule out a military response to any PKK activity.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community, has waged a 23-year armed campaign for Kurdish self-rule in Turkey's southeast.

The conflict has claimed more than 37 000 lives.

- AFP