Turkish military fires on Kurdish rebels inside Iraq

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The Turkish military has said it fired on a group of 50 to 60 Kurdish rebels inside Iraqi territory, inflicting "significant losses." It did not say whether Turkish troops had crossed the border into Iraq Saturday. The US military said it had no reports of a Turkish incursion across the Iraqi border. And spokesmen for the government of northern Iraq and the rebel group denied that any fighting had taken place. But late Saturday, the Turkish military said the operations target only the PKK and that "they are not against people living in Iraq's north nor against local groups unless they commit an act of enmity against the Turkish Armed Forces." The military said Saturday's operation was the first since it had been authorized to launch a cross-border offensive, and that operations will continue "depending on intelligence gathered." Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that the government had granted authorization to its military to launch a cross-border offensive against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq at any time.