Turkey ignores appeals for a swift withdrawal

Amadiyah, Iraq: Turkish fighter jets pounded Kurdish rebel positions on Monday in northern Iraq, as troops pressed on with a cross-border offensive despite Iraqi and US calls for a quick withdrawal.

Members of the security forces in the autonomous Kurdish north of Iraq said the raids began around 10pm (2000 GMT) on Sunday and continued overnight in and around Hakurk, a prominent stronghold of the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) some 20km from the Turkish frontier.

As the fighting continued, Turkish President Abdullah Gul postponed a planned four-day trip to Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo this week, a spokesman said.

The Turkish military says it has killed at least 112 rebels and puts its own losses at 15 so far, including two pilots of a helicopter that they said had been "destroyed," without specifying whether it had been shot down. A senior PKK leader said the rebels had killed 81 soldiers so far.

In Baghdad, Iraq's national security adviser said a prolonged incursion could trigger clashes between Turkish troops and Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga security forces.

Mowaffaq Al Rubaie said such fighting could have "very serious consequences" for a part of Iraq that has been relatively stable.