Turkish troops crossed into northern Iraq late on Monday, heading towards Kurdish rebel bases in Haftanin valley, as warplanes bombed the area, local security sources said.
Some 20 tanks and 30 military trucks entered Iraqi soil from Siyahkaya village around 15 kilometres east of the Habur gate on the Turkish side of the border, sources said.
Turkish warplanes also bombed the Haftanin region where some 400 rebels are believed to be settled, they added.
Turkish troops were sent by helicopter to the Zap region, they said, adding that they aimed to enter Iraq’s Sinaht region where rebels of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) are thought to be based.
Firatnews news agency, known as the mouthpiece of the PKK, confirmed Monday that Turkish troops had entered Iraq from the Siyahkaya region.
Turkish soldiers erected drawbridges on Hezil river in the region, Firatnews said.
The Turkish military launched air and land operations against the PKK after the separatist group’s guerrillas killed 24 soldiers and wounded 18 along the Iraqi border on Wednesday, the army’s biggest losses since 1993.
Some 10,000 troops on the ground were involved in Turkey’s operations, backed by jets and helicopters, inside Turkey and across the border. Military officials did not say how many troops had entered Iraq.
However, the army said the ground operations were mainly focused inside Turkey, around the Cukurca region near the Iraqi border. “A total of 49 terrorists were rendered ineffective” last week, the general staff said in a statement posted on its website on Friday. Clashes between the PKK and the army have escalated since the summer.