Kurdish rebels killed 17 Turkish soldiers and wounded 16 others in an ambush yesterday, prompting crisis talks in Ankara to consider a military strike against rebel bases in Iraq.
The attack, the worst in more than a decade by rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), came four days after Turkey's parliament overwhelmingly approved a motion to allow troops to enter northern Iraq to fight guerillas hiding there.
"We are very angry... Our parliament has granted us the authority to act and within this framework we will do whatever has to be done," an ashen-faced Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told reporters.
Senior military and government officials began crisis talks yesterday evening at the presidential palace in Ankara under President Abdullah Gul to plot Turkey's response.
Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul told reporters in Kiev after talks with US Defence Secretary Robert Gates that 17 soldiers had been killed, 16 injured and 10 others were still missing.
Asked if there would be a military response to those attacks near the Iraqi border, Mr Gonul said: "Not urgently. They (Turkish troops) are planning a cross-border (incursion)... We'd like to do these things with the Americans."
The US, Turkey's Nato ally, and Iraq have urged Ankara to refrain from military action, fearing this could destabilise the most peaceful part of Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein.
Mr Gates said he did not believe Ankara would launch a major cross-border operation imminently. He also said Mr Gonul implied there was reluctance to act unilaterally against the PKK.
US President George W. Bush condemned the attacks.
"Attacks from Iraqi territory need to be dealt with swiftly by the Iraqi government and Kurdish Regional authorities," White House National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in a statement. "The United States, Turkey and Iraq will continue to stand together to defeat the PKK terrorists."
Turkey's tougher stance has helped propel global oil prices to record highs over the past week. The PKK has said it might target pipelines carrying Iraqi and Caspian crude cross Turkey.
Turkey's military general staff said 32 rebels were killed in continuing clashes in the southeast. Turkey shelled areas inside Iraq on yesterday morning but no casualties were reported.