ZAKHU, Iraq — Turkish troops and Kurdish PKK rebels fought close battles in northern Iraq yesterday that left scores dead on the fourth day of a major ground offensive Baghdad and Washington fear could further destabilize Iraq.
Ankara launched the major cross-border land offensive on Thursday after months of repeated aerial bombardment of PKK targets in the remote, mountainous region. It accuses rebels of using northern Iraq as a base to stage attacks inside Turkey.
Turkey’s General Staff said in a statement 33 PKK rebels, including a leader, and eight soldiers died in heavy, close combat in poor weather conditions yesterday. It said at least 112 rebels and 15 soldiers have died since the operation to root out PKK rebels and destroy their camps began.
“The hot pursuit continues in three different regions (of northern Iraq) and our teams will carry out the operation with the same decisiveness and heroism,” the General Staff said.
The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been battling for decades to create a Kurdish homeland in southeast Turkey, disputed the figures. It said 47 Turkish troops and two rebels had been killed so far.
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.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan sought to reassure the international community that Turkey’s cross-border operation was focused on the PKK and would be limited in duration.
“Our Iraqi brothers should know that this operation is only to clean the terrorist camps and terrorists,” he said.
The military confirmed that a helicopter had been rendered ineffective, but said the cause of the crash was unknown. The PKK said it shot down a Cobra attack helicopter on Saturday.
Turkish Special Forces were parachuted into northern Iraq on Sunday as F-16, Cobra attack helicopter and artillery fire pounded suspected PKK positions, Turkish media reported.
