WORLD

SIRNAK, Turkey – Turkey is shelling
suspected Kurdish rebel camps
across the border in northern Iraq, a
newspaper reported Wednesday, but
the government appeared unlikely to
move toward sending ground troops
until next week.

Turkish tanks were carried toward
Sirnak Tuesday, near the Turkish-Iraq
border.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
told reporters preparations for the
parliamentary authorization were under
way, but he did not say when a motion
could reach the floor.

A large-scale military incursion would
disrupt one of the few relatively peaceful
areas of Iraq and jeopardize Turkey’s ties
with the United States, which has urged
Ankara not to take unilateral steps.

The Turkish military launched a
major offensive on its side of the border
this week in response to more than a
week of deadly attacks in southeastern
Turkey by the Kurdistan Workers Party,
or PKK.

Turkish troops targeting the guerrillas’
suspected escape routes in
mountainous areas in Sirnak province
have “squeezed” a group of about 80
rebels on Mount Gabar, in Sirnak, the
Hurriyet newspaper reported. Escape
routes were being bombed by helicopter
gunships while transport helicopters
were airlifting special commando units
to strategic points.

In the event that parliament gives its
approval, the military could choose to
immediately launch an operation or wait
to see if the United States and its allies,
jolted by the Turkish action, decide to
crack down on the rebels.