Iraq Armed Forces Turkey

Iraqi Kurdish officials confirmed Sunday that at least 500 Turkish troops have pushed 100 miles into northern Iraq in their deepest incursion into the Kurdish-controlled enclave in 15 years of war against Kurdish separatists. The officials described the move as preparation for a major offensive against about 2,500 rebels belonging to the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, who are dug in along a 25-mile-long swath of mountainous territory on the Iran-Iraq border.

Iraqi Kurdish officials confirmed Sunday that at least 500 Turkish troops have pushed 100 miles into northern Iraq in their deepest incursion into the Kurdish-controlled enclave in 15 years of war against Kurdish separatists. The officials described the move as preparation for a major offensive against about 2,500 rebels belonging to the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, who are dug in along a 25-mile-long swath of mountainous territory on the Iran-Iraq border.

At least 1,000 Turkish soldiers crossed into northern Iraq, apparently starting their yearly spring campaign against Kurdish rebel hide-outs there, military sources said Saturday. Over the last three days, soldiers have gone three miles into Iraqi territory from the provinces of Hakkari and Sirnak in southeastern Turkey, sources said.

About 10,000 Turkish troops have crossed into northern Iraq and are preparing to battle Kurdish rebels, officials and reports said Saturday. The troops were stationed near the city of Sulaymaniyah, more than 100 miles into Iraqi territory, Turkey's daily Hurriyet said. Hurriyet and Belgium-based Kurdish Medya TV said the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, or PUK, which controls the area around Sulaymaniyah, had asked Turkey to send troops to help fight Kurdish rebels in the region.

Turkey sent troops into northern Iraq to smash bases of Turkish Kurdish rebels who have been carrying out bold cross-border attacks, a government official said. The U.S.-led allies, who spent months protecting Iraq's Kurds from Saddam Hussein, raised no public objections. A spokesman for the allied task force now stationed in Turkey said in Ankara that the operation fell outside the allied "security zone" created in northern Iraq last April for returning Kurdish refugees.

An unyielding Turkey launched fierce new ground and air attacks against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq on Thursday, even as the United States gently suggested that its ally end the extraordinary cross-border offensive. In a careful bid to mend a coalition that shows signs of fraying, the Bush Administration joined Turkey in condemning as "terrorists" the anti-government Turkish Kurdish forces who have taken refuge in Iraq.

Iraq has moved more than 2,000 elite troops into a largely Kurdish area north of Baghdad, drawing a stiff warning from the United States against any military action, senior U.S. officials said Friday. "The Iraqis have moved four battalions of Republican Guard infantry into the area around Mosul," an official said, citing U.S. intelligence reports. "We want to make it clear to the Iraqi government that we will continue . . . to enforce (United Nations) Security Council resolutions in that area.

The largest air offensive against rebel Turkish Kurds in northern Iraq is over, but Turkey will not relinquish a military buffer zone along the border, officials said Friday. The attacks on the guerrilla strongholds began Monday. The Iraqi Kurds, who deny any alliance with the Turkish Kurds, have charged that the bombing killed at least 15 Iraqi civilians, which Turkey has denied. Iraqi Kurds control most of northern Iraq since the withdrawal last month of U.S.

Most Turkish troops have withdrawn from northern Iraq after a six-week offensive against Kurdish rebels, officials said Thursday. But unabated Kurdish-related violence elsewhere showed that this nation's Kurdish problem is far from solved--at home or abroad. Defense Minister Mehmet Golhan said almost all of the 35,000 Turkish soldiers had been pulled back, excluding those still guarding Turkey's mountainous border.

About 10,000 Turkish troops have crossed into northern Iraq and are preparing to battle Kurdish rebels, officials and reports said Saturday. The troops were stationed near the city of Sulaymaniyah, more than 100 miles into Iraqi territory, Turkey's daily Hurriyet said. Hurriyet and Belgium-based Kurdish Medya TV said the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, or PUK, which controls the area around Sulaymaniyah, had asked Turkey to send troops to help fight Kurdish rebels in the region.

At least 1,000 Turkish soldiers crossed into northern Iraq, apparently starting their yearly spring campaign against Kurdish rebel hide-outs there, military sources said Saturday. Over the last three days, soldiers have gone three miles into Iraqi territory from the provinces of Hakkari and Sirnak in southeastern Turkey, sources said.

Most Turkish troops have withdrawn from northern Iraq after a six-week offensive against Kurdish rebels, officials said Thursday. But unabated Kurdish-related violence elsewhere showed that this nation's Kurdish problem is far from solved--at home or abroad. Defense Minister Mehmet Golhan said almost all of the 35,000 Turkish soldiers had been pulled back, excluding those still guarding Turkey's mountainous border.

Iraq has moved more than 2,000 elite troops into a largely Kurdish area north of Baghdad, drawing a stiff warning from the United States against any military action, senior U.S. officials said Friday. "The Iraqis have moved four battalions of Republican Guard infantry into the area around Mosul," an official said, citing U.S. intelligence reports. "We want to make it clear to the Iraqi government that we will continue . . . to enforce (United Nations) Security Council resolutions in that area.

The largest air offensive against rebel Turkish Kurds in northern Iraq is over, but Turkey will not relinquish a military buffer zone along the border, officials said Friday. The attacks on the guerrilla strongholds began Monday. The Iraqi Kurds, who deny any alliance with the Turkish Kurds, have charged that the bombing killed at least 15 Iraqi civilians, which Turkey has denied. Iraqi Kurds control most of northern Iraq since the withdrawal last month of U.S.

An unyielding Turkey launched fierce new ground and air attacks against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq on Thursday, even as the United States gently suggested that its ally end the extraordinary cross-border offensive. In a careful bid to mend a coalition that shows signs of fraying, the Bush Administration joined Turkey in condemning as "terrorists" the anti-government Turkish Kurdish forces who have taken refuge in Iraq.

Turkish military forces are using warplanes to attack Kurdish guerrillas in northern Iraq in a defiant offensive against Kurds who until now have been protected by a U.S.-led multinational force, American and Turkish officials said Wednesday. At the same time, Turkey announced that it has moved troops and tanks across the border into Iraq to occupy a new buffer zone that the Ankara government described as a necessary defense against infiltration by Turkish Kurdish guerrillas.

Turkish military forces are using warplanes to attack Kurdish guerrillas in northern Iraq in a defiant offensive against Kurds who until now have been protected by a U.S.-led multinational force, American and Turkish officials said Wednesday. At the same time, Turkey announced that it has moved troops and tanks across the border into Iraq to occupy a new buffer zone that the Ankara government described as a necessary defense against infiltration by Turkish Kurdish guerrillas.

Turkey sent troops into northern Iraq to smash bases of Turkish Kurdish rebels who have been carrying out bold cross-border attacks, a government official said. The U.S.-led allies, who spent months protecting Iraq's Kurds from Saddam Hussein, raised no public objections. A spokesman for the allied task force now stationed in Turkey said in Ankara that the operation fell outside the allied "security zone" created in northern Iraq last April for returning Kurdish refugees.