Turkish military says hit Kurdish rebels in Iraq

By Thomas Grove

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's military said on Sunday it launched overnight air and artillery attacks against Kurdish separatist rebels in northern Iraq overnight an insurgent strike on a military base.

"Targets proven to belong to the PKK terrorist organisation in northern Iraq were put under heavy and effective fire by our air force planes with the support of artillery," the statement said.

The raids in northern Iraq, which began after 1500 GMT on Saturday, targeted members of the Kurdistan Workers Party who had escaped into Iraq from Turkey after attacking a gendarme station Friday night with a force of 150-200 rebels.

Two soldiers were killed in the initial PKK attack and four died later in ensuing clashes with the separatists.

The violence is part of a wider military operation, backed by attack helicopters, tanks and artillery, against the PKK in restive and mountainous southeast Turkey.

"If terrorist violence is not stopped, if they do not put down their weapons, security forces will continue to fight using whatever intelligence it receives," said Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday.

Sporadic fighting was taking place on Sunday along the Iraqi border of Hakkari province, military sources told Reuters, adding that 20,000 troops had been deployed along the Turkish-Iraqi border with large convoys delivering arms and supplies.

Nearly 100,000 troops have been stationed in the country's southeast to fight against the PKK.