Turk troops press campaign vs PKK rebels in Iraq
CIZRE, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkish troops pressed theiroffensive against Kurdish PKK guerrillas in northern Iraq onSaturday, two days after crossing the mountainous border in acampaign Turkey's allies hope will be short and limited.
Turkish security sources said troops had killed 11 rebelsduring intense fighting on Saturday, taking the total PKK deathtoll to at least 55 according to Ankara's estimates.
A spokesman for the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)told Reuters by satellite phone that five guerrillas had beenwounded and 22 soldiers had died in the clashes. Turkey's armyhas confirmed the deaths of only five soldiers.
Baghdad urged Turkey to respect its sovereignty and saidthe military operations would not solve the PKK problem.
The leadership of the autonomous Kurdish region of northernIraq vowed strong opposition if civilians or populated areaswere attacked.
"Any attack on any citizen in Kurdistan or populated areaswill be answered with massive resistance ... and allpreparations have been made in this matter," a statement fromthe presidency of the Kurdish Regional Government said.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan reiterated on Saturdaythat the sole target of the northern Iraq offensive was thePKK.
Washington is sharing intelligence with NATO ally Turkey onPKK movements in Iraq. It has urged Ankara to limit thecampaign to precise rebel targets and bring it to a swiftconclusion.
"Intelligence we have received suggests the so-calledleaders (of the rebels inside Iraq) are in a panic and tryingto flee the region by moving rapidly to the south," Turkey'smilitary General Staff said in a statement late on Friday.
There have been conflicting reports about the scale ofTurkey's military operation.
A senior Turkish military source told Reuters two brigadesmade up of around 8,000 troops are taking part, though Iraqiofficials and a senior officer with coalition forces in Baghdadsuggested the number was no more than a "few hundred".
Verifying information from either side is difficult becauseof the nature of the terrain where the fighting is going on.
"HEROIC FIGHT"
The Turkish military is anxious to avoid possible clasheswith Iraqi Kurdish security forces and called in its statementfor understanding for Ankara's need to take action.
"Our troops are fighting heroically in difficult weatherconditions and difficult terrain. The operation will end onceour targets have been reached," it said.
Turkey's government and military have come under heavydomestic pressure to crush the PKK after a series of deadlyattacks on their troops late last year.
Turkey says it has the right under international law to hitthe PKK in Iraq where it estimates some 3,000 rebels are based.
Ankara has codenamed its offensive "Gunes", or Sun, after athree-year-old girl whose father was killed by the PKK, Turkishnewspapers reported on Saturday.
Newspapers carried pictures issued by the General Staff ofsoldiers in white camouflage gear trudging through snow.
"Heroes," declared Turkey's top-selling Posta daily.
Turkey's military has been bombing PKK positions innorthern Iraq since securing parliament's authorisation tocarry out cross-border operations in October.
Ankara blames the PKK for the deaths of nearly 40,000people since the group began its armed struggle in 1984 for anethnic Kurdish homeland in southeast Turkey. Washington and theEU, like Turkey, brand the PKK as terrorists and internationalreaction to the latest offensive has been muted.
But the United States and the European Union fear aprolonged military campaign inside Iraq would raise the risk ofserious clashes between Turkish and Iraqi Kurdish forces andalso undermine the fragile U.S.-backed government in Baghdad.
Turkey's General Staff has not specified the size or lengthof the operation, though one Turkish television channel hassaid it will last about 15 days.
Turkey launched several major land offensives in the 1990sinto northern Iraq against the separatist movement and hassince kept small contingents of troops at bases there.
On the Turkish side of the border, near the town of Cizre,military personnel patrolled remote hillside roads on Saturdaybeneath the snow-capped mountains leading into Iraq.
Military helicopters flew overhead and armoured personnelvehicles trundled along the roads between the numerous armybases which dot the border region.
(Writing by Gareth Jones in Ankara; editing by RobertWoodward)