Turkey Bans Flights to Northern Iraq

Turkey banned flights to and from northern Iraq today as part of its increasingly hostile stance towards Kurdish fighters across its eastern border.

The move, announced on Turkish television, cranks up Ankara's measures against groups backing Kurdish militants.

Turkey yesterday announced unspecified economic sanctions against such groups in response to an increase in attacks on Turkish soldiers.

Ankara is angry with the self-governing Kurdish administration of northern Iraq for failing to tackle cross-border attacks on Turkish troops by the Kurdistan Worker party, or PKK.

The Iraqi government and US have stepped up efforts to persuade Turkey against mounting a cross-border operation. Baghdad promised more border checkpoints while Washington said it was sharing "lots of intelligence" with Turkey.

Ankara has complained for months about what it sees as lack of US support against the rebel fighters.

The Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, this weekend flies to the US for talks with President Bush.

The White House spokesman, Dana Perino, said yesterday that Mr Bush would emphasize that Washington expects Baghdad to act against the PKK.

She said: "Turkey has a right to defend its people, it has a right to look for its soldiers, and we are asking Turkey, as well, to exercise restraint and to limit its exercises to the PKK. And so far that's continuing to work, but it takes a lot of dialogue and discussions."

Following a six-hour meeting of Mr Erdogan's cabinet, the deputy prime minister, Cemil Cicek, said yesterday that Turkey was looking for "concrete results" from the talks with Mr Bush.

"This is a meeting about the PKK, which America also considers a terrorist organization," he said.

The cross-border attacks have left 47 people dead on the Turkish side, including 35 soldiers, since the end of September.

The latest death occurred yesterday, when a soldier succumbed to injuries sustained while fighting rebels on the border earlier in the week.

"We have given them more and more intelligence as a result of their recent concerns," said the US defense department spokesman, Geoff Morrell.

He did not specify when that process started, but another official said the US has in recent days sent U2 spy planes to the area.

The Iraqi foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, said his government would erect more checkpoints along its northern border to halt fuel, food and other supplies reaching the insurgents.

Mr Zebari, a Kurd himself, said Iraq would also take other, unspecified measures to hinder PKK incursions.

Iraq is ready "to cooperate actively with the Turkish government to find practical measures" to prevent the attacks, he said.

It is widely feared that a Turkish cross-border campaign would spread disorder in one of Iraq's few relatively stable regions.

Before meeting Mr Bush, the Turkish prime minister is scheduled to meet the secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, when she visits Turkey tomorrow.

High-ranking officials from the UN security council, the G8, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Arab League and the EU are also holding talks today in Istanbul ahead of a foreign ministers' meeting on Iraq.

Mr Erdogan has accused Massoud Barzani, the leader of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region, of "aiding and abetting" the rebels.

Turkey fears that Iraqi Kurds could establish an independent Kurdish state - Mr Barzani has set this as his ultimate goal - which could fuel separatist sentiments within Kurdish parts of Turkey.