Turkey steps up attacks

CIZRE, Turkey -- Turkish troops intensified their offensive against Kurdish PKK guerrillas in northern Iraq on Saturday, two days after crossing the mountainous border in a campaign Turkey's allies hope will be short and limited.

Backed up by warplanes, artillery and combat helicopters, troops killed 35 rebels in the remote mountainous area on Saturday, the Turkish General Staff said, taking the total PKK death toll since a major offensive began on Thursday to 79.

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been battling for decades to create a Kurdish homeland in southeast Turkey, threatened reprisal attacks on Turkish soil.

Ankara says it was forced to launch a cross-border offensive after Iraqi authorities failed to stop an estimated 3,000 PKK members from using northern Iraq as a base to stage deadly attacks against soldiers and civilians inside Turkish territory.

A PKK spokesman told Reuters the guerrillas had recovered the bodies of 15 of the 22 Turkish soldiers they say they have killed. He declined to comment on rebel casualties.

In its statement, the general staff confirmed the deaths of just seven of its soldiers, two of them on Saturday.

It is virtually impossible to verify the claims of either side because the fighting is taking place in largely inaccessible terrain in tough winter conditions.

The United States and the European Union fear a prolonged military campaign inside Iraq would raise the risk of serious clashes between Turkish and Iraqi Kurdish forces and also undermine the fragile U.S.-backed government in Baghdad.

Washington is sharing intelligence with NATO ally Turkey on PKK movements in Iraq. It has urged Ankara to limit the campaign to precise rebel targets and to bring it to a swift conclusion.

Iraq's foreign minister criticized the bombing of several bridges and said Baghdad did not approve of Turkey's offensive.

"This is a limited military incursion into a remote, isolated and uninhabited region. But if it goes on, I think it could destabilize the region because really one mistake could lead to further escalation," Hoshiyar Zebari said.

The leadership of the largely autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq vowed strong opposition if civilians are attacked.

"Any attack on any citizen in Kurdistan or populated areas will be answered with massive resistance ... and all preparations have been made in this matter," a statement from the presidency of the Kurdish Regional Government said.

CONFLICTING REPORTS

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan reiterated on Saturday that the PKK was sole target of the northern Iraq offensive. The General Staff said: "The operation will end once our targets have been reached."

There have been conflicting reports about the scale of Turkey's cross-border operation, the largest in a decade.

The General Staff has not said how many troops are involved, but it said on Saturday fighting was raging in four different areas of northern Iraq, suggesting a large-scale operation.

A senior Turkish military source told Reuters two brigades made up of around 8,000 troops were taking part. Turkish media have put the number of troops at 10,000, but a senior officer with U.S.-led forces in Baghdad said the number was under 1,000.

Turkey's government and military have come under heavy domestic pressure to crush the PKK after a series of deadly attacks on their troops late last year. Turkey says it has the right under international law to hit the PKK in Iraq.

Turkey's military has been bombing PKK positions in northern Iraq since securing parliament's authorisation to carry out cross-border operations in October.

Ankara blames the PKK for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people since the group began its armed struggle in 1984. Washington and the EU, like Turkey, brand the PKK as terrorists and international reaction to the latest offensive has been muted.

"The Turkish army is using all its weapons including fighter jets, helicopters and artillery," Ahmed Danees, head of foreign relations for the PKK, told Reuters by telephone.

"We are using guerrilla warfare. We are laying mines and planning ambushes on the Turkish side of the border."

Security has been tightened in southeast Turkey, state-run Anatolian news agency reported.

(Additional reporting by Shamal Aqraqi in Zakhu, Iraq)

(Writing by Gareth Jones and Paul de Bendern in Ankara; Editing by Caroline Drees)