Turkish troops push into Iraqi territory

ANKARA, APRIL 3. Turkish troops, backed by air power, continued their push into northern Iraq to hunt Kurdish rebels in a spring offensive, newspapers said today.

Turkey, with limited numbers of troops routinely based inside Iraq, regularly mounts such operations to hit mountain hideouts of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which has fought since 1984 for self-rule for Turkey's 12 million Kurds. The Radikal newspaper said artillery and armoured units had crossed the border at three points and were pushing towards the towns of Haftanin and Khwakurk. It said Turkish fighter jets had bombed rebel camps in the area.

There were no reports of casualties from the remote region which has been run by two Iraqi Kurd parties since they slipped from Baghdad's rule at the end of the 1991 Gulf war. A military source said that up to 7,000 soldiers were involved in the offensive against the PKK rebels who were regrouping in northern Iraq after an order by their leader, Mr. Abdullah Ocalan, to stop fighting and leave the country.

Military observers say about two-thirds of the PKK's forces complied with the order, leaving some 1,000 rebels inside Turkey. Most rebels are thought to have joined forces with other PKK units already in Iraq.

- Reuters

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Section  : International
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