By Daren Butler
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 in a statement, taking the totalPKK death toll since the offensive began on Thursday to 79.
Earlier, a spokesman for the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party(PKK) told Reuters by satellite phone that no guerrillas hadbeen killed and only five had been wounded. He said 22 Turkishsoldiers had been killed in clashes so far.
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 as the fighting is taking place in largely inaccessibleterrain 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.
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 Iraq.
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.
The General Staff has not said how many troops areinvolved, though it said on Saturday fighting was raging infour different areas of northern Iraq, suggesting a large-scaleoperation.
A Turkish military source told Reuters two brigades made upof around 8,000 troops were taking part. Turkish media have putthe number of troops at 10,000, though a senior officer withU.S.-led forces in Baghdad said the number was less than 1,000.
"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 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.
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 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.
(Additional reporting by Shamal Aqraqi in Zakhu, Iraq)
(Writing by Gareth Jones in Ankara; editing by CarolineDrees)
