Turkey Holds Back From Northern Iraq Invasion

The immediate threat of a Turkish invasion of northern Iraq receded today after Turkey's prime minister agreed to give the US a few days to act against Kurdish separatists.

Following more deadly clashes in the mountainous border region, in which at least 12 Turkish soldiers and 23 Kurdistan Workers party (PKK) guerrillas died, the government said it would pay "any price" to protect its citizens from attacks.

Turkish armed forces have already stepped up the bombardment against Kurdish rebels on the Iraqi side of the border.

However, Ankara - in the midst of intense public pressure to retaliate - agreed to hold off from invading northern Iraq in order to give Washington and Iraqi Kurdish leaders a chance to rein in the PKK.

The Iraqi president, Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, said he wanted the situation to be resolved peacefully but had already ruled handing over any PKK suspects to Turkey.

"We have appealed to the PKK to desist fighting and transform themselves from a military organisation into a civilian and political one," he said.

"If they insist on the continuation of fighting, they should leave Kurdistan of Iraq and not create problems here. We will not hand any Kurdish man to Turkey, even a Kurdish cat," he said.

Speaking after meeting his US counterpart in Kiev, the Turkish defence minister, Vecdi Gonul, told reporters in Kiev that Turkish military officials were not "urgently" planning an invasion. "They [Turkish troops] are planning a cross-border [incursion] ... We'd like to do these things with the Americans," he said.

Turkey is well aware that any action in Iraq would damage its relations with both Washington and the EU, but could find internal pressure to launch an attack impossible to ignore.

Suat Kinliki, a member of the foreign affairs committee, told Reuters: "I think we've passed the threshold."

"It looks like for two days or three days there will be a holding off and a waiting period," he added. "Unless the US comes up with something magic in the next few days - which is highly unlikely - we'll probably go in."

Protesters have marched in several cities, including Istanbul. The nationalist newspaper Cumhuriyet carried the headline "Enough is enough" today.

After the crisis talks, the Turkish prime minister, Tayyip Erdogan, said: "We expect the United States to take swift steps [against the PKK] befitting of our strategic partnership." He is due to visit London today on an official visit.

"Our anger, our hatred is great," Mr Erdogan said. However, he insisted his government would take "an approach that is calm and based on common sense".

The US is anxious to avert any Turkish military strikes against the PKK in northern Iraq, fearing they could destabilize the region.

The Turkish soldiers died during a large operation against PKK rebels in the Oramar area of Hakkari province, where the borders of Iran, Iraq and Turkey converge.

PKK guerillas reportedly blew up a bridge as a Turkish military convoy was crossing it. In the fighting that ensued, the Turkish military said it had killed 32 rebels.

A spokesman for the PKK told the Guardian guerrillas had killed 17 Turkish soldiers as they ambushed a military convoy heading towards the Iraqi border. The rebel group had also taken eight "prisoners of war".

He said the PKK suffered no losses, but added that clashes were continuing. PKK sources said fighters on the Iraqi side of the border had dismantled their camps and were adopting "defensive" positions in the mountains in anticipation of a concerted Turkish attack.