Turkey's separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party, the PKK, has said the release of eight Turkish soldiers it says it is holding 'will not take long.'
But the threat of a Turkish military strike on Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq has been growing after crisis talks with an Iraqi delegation failed to satisfy Ankara.
Newspapers reported that the army was massing more forces along the Iraqi frontier, with F-16 fighter jets ready for orders to strike.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the country was on a constant state of alert.
Mr Erdogan warned that those who support terrorists and even those who turn a blind eye to them, are partners in crime.
The prime minister also criticised European countries for failing to arrest and extradite to Turkey PKK militants active on their soil.
After yesterday's talks in Ankara, Turkey said Iraqi proposals to curb the PKK would take too long to implement.
However, Prime Minister Erdogan signalled that action across the border might yet be put off until after he meets US President George W Bush in Washington on 5 November.
