Turkey Refuses Timetable on Iraq Incursion

Turkey today refused to set a timetable for the withdrawal of troops attacking Kurdish guerrillas in northern Iraq, despite US pressure for a quick end to the fighting.

"Our objective is clear, our mission is clear and there is no timetable until ... those terrorist bases are eliminated," a senior Turkish envoy, Ahmet Davutoglu, said after talks in Baghdad with the Iraqi foreign minister, Hoshiyar Zebari.

Iraq has demanded an immediate end to the incursion that began last Thursday, while Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, said he would tell Turkish leaders the assault must not continue for longer than two weeks, the first time a limit has been imposed on the incursion.

"It's very important that the Turks make this operation as short as possible and then leave, and to be mindful of Iraqi sovereignty," Gates told reporters in Delhi before leaving for a scheduled trip to Ankara.

"I measure quick in terms of days, a week or two, something like that. Not months," he said.

Turkey said its troops had killed 77 Kurdish rebels belonging to the Kurdistan Workers party (PKK) in heavy fighting in northern Iraq since last night, while losing five soldiers. The latest figures bring the total death toll among the rebels to 230 and among soldiers to 24, according to Ankara's estimates.

The PKK is fighting for autonomy in the Kurdish region of south-eastern Turkey, and Ankara has accused them of launching attacks from northern Iraq.

In the past six days, Turkey has increased the number of tanks and armed forces it has sent over the border. Helicopters and F-16 warplanes were seen flying over the border this morning.

Turkish officials said the limited incursion was made with the consent of the US and Iraq and its goal was the elimination of PKK bases in northern Iraq.

The US and the EU regard the PKK as a terrorist group, but many Iraqi Kurds believe Turkish generals are using the presence of the separatists in Iraq as an excuse to destabilize Iraq's autonomous Kurdish area.

US consent to cross-border operations against the PKK and the provision of intelligence to Turkish forces on rebel positions has provoked anger within the Kurdish region of Iraq.

The acting Iraqi prime minister, Barham Saleh, said the operation had "not been conducive to Iraq-Turkey relations" and could have "dire consequences". He said Iraq would repeat demands for an immediate withdrawal of troops from the area.