Thousands of Turkish troops have crossed into northern Iraq and thousands more are at the border ready to join them in their hunt for Kurdish PKK guerrillas, a senior military source said today.
Turkey's military said the land offensive - the first major incursion in a decade - had fighter aircraft in support, and Turkish television reported that 10,000 troops had entered Iraq.
"The Turkish Armed Forces, which attach great importance to Iraq's territorial integrity and stability, will return home in the shortest time possible after its goals have been achieved," the General Staff said in a statement posted on its website.
A military source based in southeast Turkey said: "Thousands of troops have crossed the border and thousands more are waiting at the border to join them if necessary."
The US military said it was aware that Turkish forces had launched an offensive into northern Iraq against members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), considered a terrorist group by Ankara, the United States and the European Union.
Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, a US military spokesman in Baghdad, said the operation was understood to be of "limited duration" and aimed at PKK fighters in the largely autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq.
Nato member Turkey says it has the right under international law to hit Turkish PKK rebels who shelter in northern Iraq and have mounted attacks inside Turkey that have killed scores of troops. Turkey says some 3,000 PKK rebels are based in Iraq.
Turkey's military said the cross-border offensive was launched yesterday evening. Turkish media said troops, backed by warplanes and Cobra attack helicopters, had moved 10 kilometres inside Iraq. Television footage showed dozens of tanks moving at high speed along the Iraqi-Turkish border.