Gates urges Turkey to withdraw from military incursion

Canberra: US Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Sunday called on Turkey to wrap up its latest military incursion into northern Iraq to combat Kurdish fighters as soon as possible.

"I would hope that it would be short, that it would be precise and avoid the loss of innocent life, and that they leave as quickly as they can accomplish their mission," Gates told reporters today in Canberra, Australia.

While expressing sympathy for the Turkish goal of blunting the PKK, Gates urged Turkish leaders to battle the group through political and economic as well as military methods.

Gates said the Kurdish regional government that holds sway in northern Iraq has become ``much more active'' in trying to control the PKK fighters based in their area.

Gates is scheduled to meet with Turkish leaders later this week in Ankara, toward the end of an eight-day Asian trip.

Meanwhile, Turkish warplanes, helicopters and artillery bombed suspected hideouts of Kurdish rebels in remote, mountainous terrain of northern Iraq on Saturday.

The Turkish military said at least 35 Kurdish rebels and two Turkish soldiers died in fighting on Saturday. A total of seven soldiers and at least 79 rebels have been killed in Iraq since Turkey launched a ground incursion late Thursday, according to the military.