Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan confirmed yesterday his government was drawing up plans to authorise a military incursion into northern Iraq to fight Kurdish rebels using the region as a base.
Mr Erdogan is under pressure to act after rebel attacks killed 15 soldiers since Sunday, but political analysts say a major cross-border operation remains unlikely.
A large incursion would strain ties with the US and the EU, which Ankara hopes to join, and could undermine regional stability. Russia also urged restraint.
Washington, which relies on Turkish bases to supply its war effort in Iraq, cautioned against an incursion.
"We do not think it would be the best place for troops to go into Iraq from Turkey at this time," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters, echoing the State Department's position stated the day before.
"We have said that we want to work with the Turkish government and the Iraqis... to eradicate the terrorist problem there in northern Iraq."
Mr Erdogan, asked about his plans as he arrived at parliament, said preparations on the incursion proposal "have started and are continuing."
Parliament, where Mr Erdogan's ruling centre-right AK Party has a big majority, would have to grant permission for troops to cross the border into Iraq. Passing the measure would not automatically mean Turkish troops going into northern Iraq.
Ankara blames rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) for the deaths of more than 30,000 people since the group launched its armed struggle for an ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey in 1984.
Large-scale Turkish incursions into northern Iraq in 1995 and 1997, involving an estimated 35,000 and 50,000 troops respectively, failed to dislodge the rebels.
With Turkey about to start a religious holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, some newspapers said the proposal may not be sent to parliament until next week.
Turkey's military, the second biggest in Nato, launched a fresh offensive yesterday against PKK rebels in Tunceli province in the east of the country, television reported.
Military sources said there was also some shelling of rebel positions in the border region but only on the Turkish side.
Border guards arrested 20 suspected PKK supporters yesterday crossing into Turkey from Iraq, said CNN Turk TV.
In southeastern Turkey, a child was killed and several police officers and civilians were wounded yesterday when a police vehicle was the target of a grenade attack, Turkish television said. It was not yet clear who carried out the attack.
On Tuesday, Mr Erdogan said all measures, including military ones, would be considered in the fight against the PKK, some 3,000 of whom are believed to be holed up in northern Iraq.
Iraq and Turkey recently signed an anti-terrorism accord, but Baghdad refused Ankara's request to allow Turkish troops to chase rebels across their shared border if the need arose.
"Turkey cannot intervene in northern Iraq today without the consent of the elected government in Baghdad because it would violate international law," said Huseyin Bagci of Ankara's Middle East Technical University.