Turk PM confirms plan to allow Iraq incursion

By Hidir Goktas

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan confirmed on Wednesday his government was drawing up plans to authorize a military incursion into northern Iraq to fight Kurdish rebels using the region as a base.

His government could send a request to parliament as early as Thursday to authorize such an operation, Erdogan said in an interview on CNN Turk. He hopes to gain authorization after a holiday this weekend, he said.

Erdogan is under pressure to act after rebel attacks which have killed 15 soldiers since Sunday, but political analysts say a major cross-border operation remains unlikely.

A large incursion would strain ties with the United States and the European Union, which Ankara hopes to join, and could undermine regional stability. Russia also urged restraint.

Washington, which relies on Turkish bases to supply its war effort in Iraq, cautioned against an incursion.

"We do not think it would be the best place for troops to go into Iraq from Turkey at this time," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters, echoing the State Department's position stated the day before.

"We have said that we want to work with the Turkish government and the Iraqis ... to eradicate the terrorist problem there in northern Iraq."

Erdogan, asked about his plans as he arrived at parliament, said preparations on the incursion proposal "have started and are continuing."

Parliament, where Erdogan's ruling centre-right AK Party has a big majority, would have to grant permission for troops to cross the border into Iraq. Passing the measure would not automatically mean Turkish troops going into northern Iraq.

Ankara blames rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) for the deaths of more than 30,000 people since the group launched its armed struggle for an ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey in 1984.

Large-scale Turkish incursions into northern Iraq in 1995 and 1997, involving an estimated 35,000 and 50,000 troops respectively, failed to dislodge the rebels.

With Turkey about to start a religious holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, some newspapers said the proposal may not be sent to parliament until next week.

Turkey's military, the second biggest in NATO, launched a fresh offensive on Wednesday against PKK rebels in Tunceli province in the east of the country, television reported.

Military sources said there was also some shelling of rebel positions in the border region but only on the Turkish side.

Border guards arrested 20 suspected PKK supporters on Wednesday crossing into Turkey from Iraq, said CNN Turk TV.