Turkey to send Iraq incursion request after holiday

Turkish military trucks carry tanks on a road connecting Turkey's southeastern town of Cizre to Sirnak, October 10, 2007. Turkey's government will send a request to parliament after a public holiday for it to authorize a possible army operation against Kurdish Turkish rebels based in northern Iraq, a senior AK Party lawmaker said on Thursday.

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's government will send a request to parliament after a public holiday for it to authorize a possible army operation against Kurdish Turkish rebels based in northern Iraq, a senior AK Party lawmaker said on Thursday.

"The resolution won't go to parliament today. It will be sent to parliament after Bayram (public holiday)," a senior ruling AK Party lawmaker, who declined to be named, told Reuters. The holiday begins on October 12 and ends on October 14.

Parliament would have to grant its permission for troops to cross the border into Iraq. Political analysts say a major military operation remains unlikely, given the opposition of the United States, but Erdogan is under pressure to act after a series of deadly rebel attacks on Turkish security forces.