DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Apr 24 (Reuters) A Turkish soldier and three members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) have been killed in a clash in southeastern Turkey, the provincial governor's office said today.
The clash occurred in the remote province of Sirnak on Sunday during the Turkish army's annual ''spring offensive'' against PKK rebels, who cross into Turkey from their mountain strongholds in northern Iraq.
Army operations were continuing today, the governor's office said.
Dozens of guerrillas and members of the security forces have been killed in recent clashes and mine attacks, as well as a string of bombings in Turkey's largest city Istanbul, some of them claimed by a group linked to the PKK.
The Sirnak clash coincides with the dispatch of Turkish troop reinforcements totalling 40,000 to the southeast to help deal with expected PKK incursions.
Ankara has repeatedly asked the United States to crack down on Kurdish militants. The issue is expected to feature high on US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's agenda when she visits Ankara later this week.
The head of Turkey's armed forces, General Hilmi Ozkok, reiterated yesterday evening that Turkey had the right under international law to carry out cross-border operations to root out PKK militants if that was deemed necessary.
''If the conditions arise, like every sovereign country, we will use those rights,'' Ozkok said.
Diplomats say Turkey is highly unlikely to send troops into northern Iraq unilaterally because it could trigger a crisis in its relations with the United States and with the European Union, which Ankara aims to join.
Ozkok's remarks are seen as aimed at reminding Rice of Ankara's frustration over the PKK presence in Iraq.
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, in apparent reference to both Turkey and Iran, has said in recent days that neighbouring countries should not meddle in Iraq's affairs.
Ankara blames the PKK for the deaths of more than 30,000 people, mostly Kurds, since the group launched its armed campaign for an ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey in 1984.
REUTERS PR PM1632
The clash occurred in the remote province of Sirnak on Sunday during the Turkish army's annual ''spring offensive'' against PKK rebels, who cross into Turkey from their mountain strongholds in northern Iraq.
Army operations were continuing today, the governor's office said.
Dozens of guerrillas and members of the security forces have been killed in recent clashes and mine attacks, as well as a string of bombings in Turkey's largest city Istanbul, some of them claimed by a group linked to the PKK.
The Sirnak clash coincides with the dispatch of Turkish troop reinforcements totalling 40,000 to the southeast to help deal with expected PKK incursions.
Ankara has repeatedly asked the United States to crack down on Kurdish militants. The issue is expected to feature high on US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's agenda when she visits Ankara later this week.
The head of Turkey's armed forces, General Hilmi Ozkok, reiterated yesterday evening that Turkey had the right under international law to carry out cross-border operations to root out PKK militants if that was deemed necessary.
''If the conditions arise, like every sovereign country, we will use those rights,'' Ozkok said.
Diplomats say Turkey is highly unlikely to send troops into northern Iraq unilaterally because it could trigger a crisis in its relations with the United States and with the European Union, which Ankara aims to join.
Ozkok's remarks are seen as aimed at reminding Rice of Ankara's frustration over the PKK presence in Iraq.
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, in apparent reference to both Turkey and Iran, has said in recent days that neighbouring countries should not meddle in Iraq's affairs.
Ankara blames the PKK for the deaths of more than 30,000 people, mostly Kurds, since the group launched its armed campaign for an ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey in 1984.
REUTERS PR PM1632
Oneindia Login