Turkey steps up PKK offensive in Iraq

CIZRE, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkish troops intensified 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.

Backed up by warplanes and combat helicopters, troopskilled 35 rebels in the remote mountainous area on Saturday,the Turkish General Staff said, taking the total PKK death tollsince a major offensive began on Thursday to 79.

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been battlingfor decades to create a Kurdish homeland in southeast Turkey,threatened reprisal attacks on Turkish soil.

Ankara says it was forced to launch a cross-borderoffensive after Iraqi authorities failed to stop an estimated3,000 PKK members from using northern Iraq as a base to stageattacks inside Turkish territory.

A PKK spokesman told Reuters the guerrillas had recoveredthe bodies of 15 of the 22 Turkish soldiers they say they havekilled since Turkey launched the offensive. He declined to sayif any rebels had been killed.

In its statement, the General Staff confirmed the deaths ofjust seven of its soldiers, two of them on Saturday.

It is virtually impossible to verify the claims of eitherside because the fighting is taking place in largelyinaccessible terrain in tough winter conditions.

The General Staff released new pictures of the operation,including helicopters hovering over snowy peaks and soldiers intheir white camouflage uniforms striding through the snow.

The United States and the European Union fear a prolongedmilitary campaign inside Iraq would raise the risk of seriousclashes between Turkish and Iraqi Kurdish forces and alsoundermine the fragile U.S.-backed government in Baghdad.

Iraq's foreign minister said Baghdad did not approve ofTurkey's incursion and said it should end as soon as possible.

"This is a limited military incursion into a remote,isolated and uninhabited region. But if it goes on, I think itcould destabilise the region because really one mistake couldlead to further escalation," Hoshiyar Zebari told the BBC.

The leadership of the autonomous Kurdish region of northernIraq vowed strong opposition if civilians are 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 to bring it to a swiftconclusion.

CONFLICTING REPORTS

There have been conflicting reports about the scale ofTurkey's military operation, possibly the largest in decades.

The General Staff has not said how many troops areinvolved, but it said on Saturday fighting was raging in fourdifferent areas of northern Iraq, suggesting a large-scaleoperation.

A senior Turkish military source told Reuters two brigadesmade up of around 8,000 troops were taking part. Turkish mediahave put the number of troops at 10,000, but a senior officerwith U.S.-led forces in Baghdad said the number was under1,000.

"Our troops are fighting heroically in difficult weatherconditions and difficult terrain. The operation will end onceour targets have been reached," the General Staff 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 theright under international law to hit the PKK in Iraq.

Ankara has codenamed its offensive "Gunes", or Sun, after athree-year-old girl whose father was killed by the PKK, Turkishnewspapers reported on Saturday.

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.

"The Turkish army is using all its weapons includingfighter jets, helicopters and artillery," Ahmed Danees, head offoreign relations for the PKK, told Reuters by telephone.

"We are using guerrilla warfare. We are laying mines andplanning ambushes on the Turkish side of the border."

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.

(Additional reporting by Shamal Aqraqi in Zakhu, Iraq)

(Writing by Gareth Jones in Ankara; editing by CarolineDrees)