Turkish troops were involved in fierce fighting with Kurdish rebels in the mountains of northern Iraq yesterday, the third day of an incursion reportedly involving troops, tanks, F-16 fighters and attack helicopters.

The Turks claimed to have killed 79 members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) so far while the Kurds claim to have killed 22 soldiers in the latest fighting.

The PKK has been waging a violent campaign for a Kurdish homeland for the country’s Kurds since 1984. The Turks say they have the right under international law to hit the PKK in Iraq. Ankara says the PKK has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people since their armed struggle began.

The Turkish press has been reporting that up to 10,000 troops may be involved in the operation.

But both Iraqi Kurdish officials in northern Iraq and American military sources in Baghdad, who have the area under constant surveillance, say no more than a few hundred Turkish troops have crossed the border.

The incursion has brought criticism from the Iraqi government in Baghdad, which called on Ankara to respect its sovereignty. “We understand completely the size of the threat Turkey faces, but military operations will not solve the PKK crisis,” said Ali Al-Dabbagh, the Iraqi government spokesman.

The US, which is sharing intelligence on the PKK with its Nato ally Turkey, has advised the Turks to limit the attacks to specific targets and bring the operation to a swift conclusion.

The operation is probably designed as much to deliver a psychological as a military blow to the PKK and force the organisation onto the defensive before the spring thaw that signals the beginning of its campaigning season. There are estimated to be 1,500 PKK militants in winter hideouts inside Turkey and another 3,000 in northern Iraq, about half of whom are expected to infiltrate Turkey once the thaw comes.

Turkey has staged a series of air raids against PKK targets in northern Iraq since December.

For the PKK the military operation is a reminder that it is no longer immune to ground attack.

EU Kosovo pull-out

The European Union yesterday confirmed it had withdrawn staff from its north Mitrovica office after strong criticism from Serbia over the independence of Kosovo, writes Andrew Wander.

Dmitry Rogozin, Russia’s envoy to Nato, warned Moscow might use “brute military force” over the issue.

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