Turkish offensive against PKK in northern Iraq

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Turkish soldiers during the incursions in northern Iraq. Photo:EFE

Supported by air power, Turkish troops continued on Saturday with their first major ground incursion in northern Iraq against Kurdish rebel bases in nearly a decade and killed dozens of militants, the military said.

The offensive, which started late on Thursday, after aircraft and artillery blasted suspected rebel targets, marked a dramatic escalation in Turkey's fight with the PKK rebel group even though Turkish officials described the operation as limited.

Turkish military said five of its troops and 24 Kurdish rebels were killed in clashes and at least 20 more rebels were killed by artillery and helicopter gunships.

Artillery units positioned on the Iraqi-Turkish border near the border town of Cukurca, further east, could be heard firing shells across the border on Friday evening.

A military officer of the US-led coalition in Iraq told the Associated Press, on condition of anonymity, that several hundred Turkish soldiers had crossed the border. AP Television pictures showed airplanes and tanks near the border with Turkey.

Local television said about 2,000 Turkish soldiers were in Iraq, operating against rebel camps about 3-4 kilometers (2-2.5 miles) in from the border. NTV television said a total of 10,000 soldiers were inside Iraq in an operation that had extended 10 kilometers (6 miles) past the frontier.

The activity was reportedly occurring about 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Cizre, a major town near the border with Iraq. It was not possible to independently confirm the size or scope of the attack on the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

CNN-Turk television, citing Turkish security officials, said the operation could last two weeks. The advance was the first confirmed Turkish military ground operation in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

The PKK militants are fighting for autonomy in predominantly Kurdish south-eastern Turkey and have carried out attacks on Turkish targets from bases in the semiautonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq.