Turkey troops head towards Iraq border

Sirnak, Turkey: Dozens of Turkish military vehicles loaded with soldiers and heavy weapons rumbled towards the Iraqi border yesterday after an ambush by rebel Kurds that left eight soldiers missing and 12 dead.

Turkey's foreign minister said his country will pursue diplomacy before it sends troops across the rugged frontier. The military said it had had no contact with the eight soldiers after Sunday's clash. A pro-Kurdish news agency said the eight were captured.

Amid the rising tension, Kurdish rebels offered Ankara a ceasefire on condition that the Turkish military abandons plans for a incursion into Iraq and ends attacks against the rebel group.

"We are ready for a ceasefire if the Turkish army stops attacking our positions, drops plans for an incursion and resort to peace," said a statement posted on a website run by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party.

Diplomatic push

Demonstrations erupted across Turkey and opposition leaders called for an immediate strike against rebel bases in Iraq, despite appeals for restraint from Iraq, the US, European leaders, Egypt and Jordan.

In Washington, the State Department said the United States had opened an all-out diplomatic push prevent an attack. In Kuwait, Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said: "We will continue these diplomatic efforts with all good intentions to solve this problem caused by a terrorist organisation."