Iraq calls for talks to end Turkey offensive

Zakhu, Iraq: Turkish troops and Kurdish PKK rebels fought battles in northern Iraq on Sunday that left scores dead on the fourth day of a major ground offensive Baghdad and Washington fear could further destabilise Iraq.

Iraq's government said Turkey should withdraw its troops as soon as possible and urged Ankara to sit down with Baghdad for talks to resolve the crisis over the PKK.

Turkey's General Staff said 33 PKK rebels, including a leader, and eight soldiers died in heavy, close combat in poor weather conditions yesterday. It said at least 112 rebels and 15 soldiers have died since the operation began.

"The hot pursuit continues in three different regions (of northern Iraq) and our teams will carry out the operation with the same decisiveness and heroism," the General Staff said in a statement.

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been battling for decades to create a Kurdish homeland in southeast Turkey, disputed the figures. It said 47 Turkish troops and two rebels had been killed.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan sought to reassure the international community that Turkey's cross-border operation was focused on the PKK and would be limited in duration. "Our Iraqi brothers should know that this operation is only to clean the terrorist camps and terrorists," he said.

But Iraq's government said it viewed the military action as "a threat to the stability of the region and a violation of Iraq's sovereignty and calls on Turkey to pull its troops from Iraq as soon as possible".

Helicopter downed

"The Iraqi government calls on Turkey to enter into bilateral dialogue with the Iraqi government and considers the threat of the PKK as a threat to Turkey and to the border areas," it said in a statement.

The PKK said it shot down a Cobra attack helicopter on Saturday. The military said a helicopter had been rendered ineffective but said the cause was unknown.

Turkish special forces were parachuted into northern Iraq yesterday as F-16, Cobra attack helicopter and artillery fire pounded suspected PKK positions, Turkish media reported.

"The bombings are continuing by land and by air, the clashes are becoming heavier," a Turkish military source yesterday. Twenty five more tanks had been sent to the region. The United States and the European Union fear a prolonged campaign would raise the risk of serious clashes between Turkish and Iraqi Kurdish forces and also undermine the Iraqi government.