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Turkish troops enter north Iraq Turkish troops enter north Iraq
(about 4 hours later)
Turkish ground forces have rolled across the border into northern Iraq to target Kurdish rebels said to be sheltering there. Turkish ground forces have crossed the border into northern Iraq to target Kurdish rebels said to be sheltering there, Ankara has said.
Thousands of soldiers are thought to be involved in the operation which, the army says, began on Thursday evening after an air and artillery bombardment. It said the raid began late on Thursday after an air and artillery bombardment.
Turkey promised its force would "return home in the shortest time possible after its goals have been achieved". Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has said the offensive is limited in scale and troops will return as soon as possible.
The US military says it believes the operation is "of limited duration". Iraqi officials say they remain unaware of any major incursion into the north, and Kurdish officials believe it took place in a remote and unpopulated area.
But a US official quoted by Reuters news agency appeared to express concern about the scale of the Turkish operation. "The target, purpose, size and parameters of this operation are limited," said Mr Erdogan, whose comments were televised.
It was "not the greatest news" and marked "a whole new level", Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza said in Brussels. PKK fighters are known to use northern Iraq as a base"Our armed forces will come back in the shortest time possible as soon as they achieve their objectives," he said, insisting that members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were the sole targets.
While supporting Turkey's right to fight "terrorism", the EU has asked Turkey to "refrain from taking any disproportionate military action". Senior Iraqi Kurdish sources have told the BBC they believe the Turkish side has exaggerated the operation, which they believe is "very, very limited", and in a remote border area where there is no population.
The Americans are strong allies of Turkey but are also anxious not to see any action which might destabilise Iraq, BBC world affairs correspondent Nick Childs says. Earlier, Turkish broadcaster NTV reported that 10,000 soldiers had crossed the border on Thursday, a Turkish military source also confirmed for Reuters news agency that two brigades had been deployed.
The Kurdish government in the north has been a particularly valuable partner for the US, he adds.
'Unusual timing''Unusual timing'
"A cross-border ground operation backed by the Air Force was launched at 1900 [1700 GMT on Thursday]," the military said. The US, the EU and Turkey consider the PKK to be a "terrorist" organisation.
PKK fighters are known to use the northern Iraq as a base Turkey's military said a cross-border ground operation backed by the Air Force was launched at 1900 [1700 GMT on Thursday].
Turkey has carried out at least one, smaller ground incursion, as well as frequent air and artillery strikes, against suspected PKK targets in Iraq since parliament authorised the army to act in October 2007. Turkey has carried out at least one ground incursion, as well as frequent air and artillery strikes, against suspected PKK targets in Iraq since parliament authorised the army to act in October 2007.
After Turkish broadcaster NTV reported that 10,000 soldiers had crossed the border on Thursday, a Turkish military source confirmed for Reuters news agency that two brigades had been deployed. But this operation's timing is unusual as the mountainous border area is still covered with heavy snow, the BBC's Sarah Rainsford reports from Istanbul.
A brigade numbers up to 5,000 troops, the agency notes. Nor have there been any major PKK attacks inside Turkey for some time, she adds.
The operation's timing is unusual as the mountainous border area is still covered with heavy snow, the BBC's Sarah Rainsford reports from Istanbul.
Nor have there have been any major PKK attacks inside Turkey for some time, she adds.
More than 30,000 people have been killed since the PKK began fighting for a Kurdish homeland in south-eastern Turkey in 1984.More than 30,000 people have been killed since the PKK began fighting for a Kurdish homeland in south-eastern Turkey in 1984.
Baghdad 'unaware' Mystery in Baghdad
As news of the operation broke, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told the BBC he was not aware of any incursion since speaking to BBC correspondent Jim Muir late on Thursday. Top Iraqi Kurdish and government officials are saying there has been no crossing at the Habur bridge, the only major land route into Iraq, the BBC's Jim Muir reports from Baghdad.
The minister, himself a Kurd from northern Iraq, said he had been in touch with people in the north and in Istanbul, as well as being in close contact with the US. Kurdistan Democratic Party militants who control the area in question inside northern Iraq say they have not detected any Turkish forces near any of their own lines.
Rear Adm Smith said the US supported Turkey's "right to defend itself from the terrorist activities of the PKK" and encouraged it to "co-ordinate closely with the government of Iraq". The office of Turkish President Abdullah Gul says the leader phoned his Iraqi counterpart, Jalal Talabani, about the operation on Thursday evening.
On Thursday, there was a tense stand-off between Kurdish Peshmerga forces and Turkish troops who had advanced out of the two fixed bases they have inside northern Iraq, our correspondent adds. "During the call, our president conveyed information on the objective of the ground operation," Mr Gul's office said.
The Turkish troops returned to base without shots being fired. Mr Talabani's office confirmed a conversation had taken place during which Mr Gul invited him to visit Ankara officially, and also assured him that any Turkish operations were against the PKK, not against the Iraqi Kurds.
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