By Paul de Bendern
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish forces fought Kurdish guerrillasat close quarters as they advanced on a key PKK base innorthern Iraq on Monday, and Baghdad warned a prolongedincursion could have serious consequences for the region.
Backed by warplanes, tanks, artillery and combathelicopters, troops killed 41 rebels on Monday, the TurkishGeneral Staff said in a statement. This took the total PKKdeath toll since a major offensive began on Thursday to 153.
"Close combat with the terrorists is continuing in twoseparate zones," it said. "The troops in the critical zones ofthe operation were reinforced and some of the troops werereplaced by fresh forces."
The Turkish military said 17 of its soldiers had died sofar in the campaign, fought in harsh winter conditions.
Turkish troops are trying to root out Kurdistan WorkersParty (PKK) guerrillas who have used the mountains of northernIraq as a base for their fight for self-rule in the mainlyKurdish southeast of Turkey since the 1990s.
Iraq's National Security adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie said inBaghdad fighting could have "very serious consequences" for apart of Iraq that has been relatively stable compared with therest of the oil-rich country.
The White House said Turkey's incursion, estimated toinvolve around 10,000 troops according to a senior Turkishmilitary source and Turkish media, should be limited.
"We hope that this is a short-term incursion so that theycan help deal with the threat," White House spokeswoman DanaPerino told reporters in Washington.
Ankara launched a ground incursion on February 21 in aremote part of Iraq's largely autonomous region. It said Iraqiauthorities had for years failed in undertakings to crack downon the rebels.
Pressure had mounted on the Turkish government after aseries of deadly attacks on soldiers and civilians.
A Kurdish security official said Turkish troops and PKKrebels clashed during the night in the Amadiya area, 10 km (6miles) south of the border.
TAKING PKK CAMPS
Turkish commandos were engaged in close battle 1.5 km(miles) from a key PKK command centre, used to store equipmentand arms, in the Zap valley after heavy aerial bombardment, asenior Turkish military source told Reuters.
"If it (Zap camp) falls, it will be a big blow to the PKK'smorale," the senior source said, adding that 500-700 new troopswere sent to Zap and Haftanin zones late on Sunday. He saidtroops would then move to the next target further towards theQandil mountains, a PKK stronghold.
The advance was slowed by having to clear PKK land minesand remote control bombs, the Turkish military source said.
A PKK spokesman in northern Iraq, Ahmed Danees, said 81Turkish soldiers and 4 rebels had been killed so far in theoffensive. This could not be verified.
Turkey blames the PKK, defined as a terrorist group by theUnited States and the European Union, for the deaths of nearly40,000 people since it began its armed struggle in 1984.
Turkey's deputy prime minister, Cemil Cicek, told reportersafter a cabinet meeting that the troops would withdraw oncethey had completed their mission.
In Washington, Turkey's ambassador to the United States,Nabi Sensoy, also stressed the operation would be limited.
"This is an operation limited in size, scope and duration,"Sensoy told Reuters in a telephone interview, without beingmore precise over exactly how long it would last.
Thousands of Turks gathered in Ankara's main mosque onMonday to mourn the deaths of three army officers killed in theoperation.
U.S. officials say Ankara has given assurances it will doall it can to avoid civilian casualties in northern Iraq.Washington has provided Turkey with intelligence to track downPKK rebels, estimated to number around 3,000 in northern Iraq.
There have been no reports of civilian casualties. Butresidents in villages near the border say they are beingtargeted in Turkish air strikes and artillery barrages.
So far the battle-hardened Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forceshave stayed on the sidelines of the operation. Kurdishofficials regard the remote mountainous area as outside theircontrol.
While Iraqi Kurds have little sympathy for the PKK, thereis widespread anger at the incursion. The leadership of IraqiKurdistan has said any targeting of Kurdish civilians wouldresult in "massive resistance" by its Peshmerga forces.
Iraq has called for a diplomatic solution to the PKKpresence, saying it has taken some measures to deal with therebels but is focused on trying to stabilise the rest of Iraq.
Ankara says it has the right under international law tohunt and kill members of the PKK to avert attacks at home.
European Union President Slovenia called on Turkey torefrain from "disproportionate military action" and to respectIraq's territorial integrity and human rights.
It said Turkey, which is trying to join the EU bloc, shouldlimit its operations to fulfilling its main purpose ofprotecting the Turkish population "from terrorism".
(Additional reporting by Sherko Raouf in Zakhu, JeremyPelofsky in Washington, Gareth Jones and Selcuk Gokoluk inAnkara; Writing by Dean Yates and Paul de Bendern, editing byRichard Balmforth)
