Turkey launches offensive in Iraq

Turkish ground troops crossed into northern Iraq in their hunt for Kurdish rebels, escalating a conflict that could undermine stability in the region.

Turkey's military said the cross-border offensive, possibly one of the largest in years, would continue until they had eliminated the threat from PKK rebels, who have been using northern Iraq as a base to stage attacks in neighbouring Turkey.

The US yesterday urged Turkey, a key regional ally, to limit its offensive to precise targets and to bring the operation to a swift conclusion.

The EU and the UN also urged restraint, fearing the offensive jeopardise the most stable region in Iraq at a time when security is improving.

The Turkish military said its troops had entered Iraq late on Thursday to destroy PKK camps and hunt rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been battling for decades to create a Kurdish homeland in southeast Turkey.

A senior Turkish military source said troops had clashed with PKK rebels in Iraq. He said many guerrillas had been killed. A PKK spokesman speaking based in northern Iraq said only Turkish soldiers had died.

"The operations inside Iraqi will intensify tomorrow," said the military source, who declined to be named.

Turkish TV and the military source said up to 10,000 soldiers had entered Iraq, but several Iraqi officials and a military source with US-led coalition forces in Baghdad said only a few hundred troops were involved.

Turkey did not specify the size or length of the operation.

"The Turkish Armed Forces, which attach great importance to Iraq's territorial integrity and stability, will return home in the shortest time possible after its goals have been achieved," the General Staff said in a statement.

Turkey's government and military have come under domestic pressure to crush the PKK after a series of deadly attacks on their troops late last year.

Ankara blames the PKK for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people since it began its armed struggle in 1984. Washington and the EU, like Turkey, classify the PKK as a terrorist organisation.

Turkey says it has the right under international law to hit the PKK in Iraq. Turkey says some 3,000 rebels are based there.