Gates wants better intelligence before PKK strike

NOORDWIJK, Netherlands (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Wednesday Turkey and the United States needed better intelligence about the location of Kurdish rebels hiding in northern Iraq before launching major strikes.

"Without good intelligence, just sending large numbers of troops across the border or dropping bombs doesn't seem to make much sense to me," he said when asked about the possibility of U.S. air strikes against the PKK.

Washington has urged Ankara to show restraint after weekend attacks by rebels from Turkey's outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) killed 12 Turkish soldiers.

Turkey, which has NATO's second biggest army, has deployed as many as 100,000 troops on the Iraqi border and warned it will launch a major incursion into northern Iraq against the PKK unless U.S. and Iraqi forces clamp down on the group.

Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, speaking to reporters earlier this week in Kiev, said Turkey was sharing intelligence with the United States. Gates did not say why that intelligence was inadequate.