Security officials in the region told Reuters that Turkish troops killed at least 20 terrorists in clashes in southeast Turkey near the Iraqi border on Wednesday.
At least 100 PKK terrorists were believed to have taken part in the attacks, which targeted seven locations, security sources said.
Reuters says military units crossed the border and are chasing PKK terrorists inside Iraq. Turkish commandos reportedly crossed the border into northern Iraq in pursuit of terrorists.
There were reportedly intermittent clashes between the troops, who advanced some 3-4 kilometers into Iraqi territory and the PKK terrorists in the border area near Çukurca in Hakkari province. PKK members have been using Iraq as a launch pad for attacks on Turkish targets in a war for autonomy in Turkey's Southeast.
The private Cihan news agency says Turkish warplanes that took off from Diyarbakır are striking at PKK bases in northern Iraq.
Recently, Turkey's Parliament passed a bill extending permission, as it has done several times since 2007, for the Turkish military to mount cross-border operations against members of the PKK in northern Iraq during the coming year. Turkish air and artillery operations against suspected PKK members in the Kandil Mountains have intensified since August. The strikes were ordered after a break of more than a year in retaliation for an increase in PKK attacks on security forces inside Turkey.
