Turkish F-16 jets prepare to take off from military airbase, in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir in this Nov. 7, 2007 file picture. he Turkish troops which purportedly entered northern Iraqi territories overnight Tuesday, started to pull out from Iraq's Erbil province late Tuesday afternoon.  (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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    DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish troops which purportedly entered northern Iraqi territories overnight Tuesday, started to pull out from Iraq's Erbil province late Tuesday afternoon, sources from Iraq's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) told Xinhua.

    At least 300 Turkish troops entered northern Iraqi territories to fight militants of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), according to the report of Turkish private broadcaster NTV.

    The PUK sources said that there were clashes between the Turkish security forces and the PKK in northern Iraq, but gave no further details.

    However, a spokesman with the administration of the Kurdish Region declared on Tuesday that the Turkish soldiers entered into the Kurdistan land, but up to now there was no reports of clashes, adding that they did not encounter peshmerga (Iraq's Kurdish security forces) soldiers in these areas.

    He said that the Peshmerga force has been ordered to stand by to defends their land in case the Turkish force approaches further.

    Earlier, a spokesman from Iraq's Kurdish border guards told Xinhua that about 100 Turkish troops carrying light weapons had entered the mountainous Bradrak area near the border.

    However, the Turkish government has stopped short of explicitly confirming any military incursion into northern Iraq.

    When asked to confirm the incursion, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said "Our army is doing what is necessary and will continue to do so.... Terrorism is not a local phenomenon, itis international,"

    The PKK, listed by the United States and Turkey as a terrorist group, took up arms against Turkey in 1984 with the aim of creating an ethnic homeland in the southeast. More than 30,000 people have been killed in the over-two-decade conflict.

Turkish F16 jet fighters fly in formation in Istanbul in this Oct. 29, 2007 file picture.  (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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Turkish army confirms ground incursion into N Iraq

    ANKARA, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish army confirmed on Tuesday that it carried out a "small-scale" incursion into northern Iraq to go after a group of outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) rebels who were trying to enter Turkey.

    Turkey's general staff said in a statement posted on its website that its troops crossed "several kilometers" into northern Iraq overnight and heavily pounded the rebels. 

Turkish soldiers patrol the eastern Turkish province of Tunceli Oct. 28, 2007. Turkish troops killed 20 Kurdish guerrillas on Sunday in a major operation against separatist rebels in eastern Turkey, army sources said. The operation involved 8,000 troops with air support in the eastern province of Tunceli, hundreds of kilometres from the Iraqi border. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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Turkish troops enter Iraqi territories

    MOSUL, Iraq, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) --Turkish troops entered the Iraqi territories in the northern Kurdish autonomous region early on Tuesday, targeting Kurdish rebels, spokesman from the Kurdish border guards said.

    "About 100 Turkish troops carrying light weapons entered the mountainous Bradrak area near the border," the spokesman told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Rice: U.S. concerned about Turkey's military action in Iraq

    BAGHDAD, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Tuesday that Washington is concerned about Turkey's activities that would cause destabilization in northern Iraq after Turkey launched two offensives against rebel troops this week.

    Rice, who arrived in Iraq Tuesday on a surprise visit, told a press conference that the U.S., Turkey and Iraq "share common interest of stopping the activity of PKK "which threatens stability in northern Iraqi and resulted in deaths in Turkey.

    She said the U.S. holds a constant stand that there should be "an overall comprehensive approach to the problem," and "no one should do anything that threatens to destabilize the north."

Turkish PM vows to continue to fight against Kurdish rebels

    ANKARA, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkish army will continue to do what is has to do from now on in fight against militants of the banned Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK).

    Erdogan made the remarks at a joint press conference in Ankara after his meeting with visitng Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, saying, "Our army is doing what it has to do right now."     

UNHCR: Turkish shelling causing displacement in N Iraq

    GENEVA, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- The U.N. refugee agency said on Tuesday that it was very concerned about the displacement of people in northern Iraq caused by the ongoing shelling by Turkey.

    Last weekend more than 1,800 people fled their homes in Sulaymania and Erbil of northern Iraq, said Astrid van Genderen Stort, spokesperson of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).