By Shamal Aqrawi
ZAKHU, Iraq (Reuters) - Turkish troops and Kurdish PKKrebels fought close battles in northern Iraq on Sunday thatleft scores dead on the fourth day of a major ground offensiveBaghdad and Washington fear could further destabilise Iraq.
Ankara launched the major cross-border land offensive onThursday after months of repeated aerial bombardment of PKKtargets in the remote, mountainous region. It accuses rebels ofusing northern Iraq as a base to stage attacks inside Turkey.
Turkey's General Staff said in a statement 33 PKK rebels,including a leader, and eight soldiers died in heavy, closecombat in poor weather conditions on Sunday. It said at least112 rebels and 15 soldiers have died since the operation toroot out PKK rebels and destroy their camps began.
"The hot pursuit continues in three different regions (ofnorthern Iraq) and our teams will carry out the operation withthe same decisiveness and heroism," the General Staff said.
The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been battlingfor decades to create a Kurdish homeland in southeast Turkey,disputed the figures. It said 47 Turkish troops and two rebelshad been killed so far.
It is virtually impossible to verify the claims of eitherside because the fighting is taking place in largelyinaccessible terrain in tough winter conditions.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan sought to reassure theinternational community that Turkey's cross-border operationwas focused on the PKK and would be limited in duration.
"Our Iraqi brothers should know that this operation is onlyto clean the terrorist camps and terrorists," he said.
The military confirmed that a helicopter had been renderedineffective, but said the cause of the crash was unknown. ThePKK said it shot down a Cobra attack helicopter on Saturday.
Turkish special forces were parachuted into northern Iraqon Sunday as F-16, Cobra attack helicopter and artillery firepounded suspected PKK positions, Turkish media reported.
"The bombings are continuing by land and by air, theclashes are becoming heavier," a Turkish military source toldReuters on Sunday, adding that 25 more tanks had been sent tothe region.
A senior military source told Reuters two brigades made upof 8,000 troops are taking part in the offensive. Turkish mediahave put the troop number at 10,000, but a senior officer withU.S.-led coalition forces in Baghdad said it was below 1,000.
U.S., IRAQI CONCERNS
Washington is sharing intelligence with NATO ally Turkey onPKK movements in Iraq but has urged Ankara to limit thecampaign to precise rebel targets and to bring it to a swiftconclusion.
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.
Baghdad has urged Ankara to respect its sovereignty. Theautonomous Iraqi Kurdish administration of northern Iraq hasvowed a tough response if civilians come under attack.
"The Kurdish Peshmerga (security) forces are on a state ofalert and will defend themselves if the Turkish forces launchan incursion into areas under the control of the Kurdistanregional government," Peshmerga spokesman Jabbar Yawar toldReuters.
An official in Iraq's Northern Oil Company said thefighting would not hit Iraqi oil exports to the Turkish port ofCeyhan because the pipeline did not pass through the conflictarea.
U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on Sunday Turkey'scampaign would not solve its problems with the rebels and urgedAnkara to take political and economic steps to isolate the PKK.
Gates -- who will visit Ankara later this week -- also saidNATO member Turkey should improve communication with Baghdadabout the operation and other efforts against the PKK.
Tehran said that in the wake of the Turkish action Iran hadreinforced its own borders with Iraq, from where Kurdish rebelsallied to the PKK have operated against Iran.
Separately, the pro-PKK Firat news agency, which is basedin Europe, quoted a top PKK commander in Iraq as urging Kurdsin Turkish cities to join the fight against the Turkish state.
"In the big cities, Kurdish youth must give their reply tothe military operations. Kurdistan's guerrillas are not just7,000 or 10,000, they number hundreds of thousands. They areeverywhere... in all Turkish cities," Bahoz Erdal said.
Turkey's impoverished, mainly Kurdish southeast has oftenseen violent pro-PKK protests, though the region has remainedlargely peaceful since the start of the ground campaign.
Ankara blames the PKK for the deaths of nearly 40,000people since the group launched its armed struggle in 1984 foran ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey. Turkey, the UnitedStates and European Union classify the PKK as a terroristorganisation.
Previous Turkish military operations across the border intonorthern Iraq in the 1990s failed to wipe out the elusive andhighly mobile guerrillas.
(Additional reporting by Gareth Jones in Ankara, DarenButler in Sirnak and Baghdad and Tehran bureaux)
(Writing by Gareth Jones and Paul de Bendern; Editing byJon Boyle)
