Turkish troops have intensified their offensive against Kurdish PKK rebels in northern Iraq, two days after crossing the border.
Backed up by warplanes, artillery and combat helicopters, troops killed 35 rebels in the remote mountainous area today, the Turkish General Staff said. This takes the total PKK death toll since a major offensive began on Thursday to 79.
The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been battling for decades to create a Kurdish homeland in southeast Turkey, threatened reprisal attacks on Turkish soil.
Turkey says it was forced to launch a cross-border offensive after Iraqi authorities failed to stop an estimated 3,000 PKK members from using northern Iraq as a base to stage deadly attacks against soldiers and civilians inside Turkish territory.
A PKK spokesman said the rebels had recovered the bodies of 15 of the 22 Turkish soldiers they say they have killed. He declined to comment on rebel casualties.
In its statement, the General Staff confirmed the deaths of just seven of its soldiers, two of them on Saturday.
It is virtually impossible to verify the claims of either side because the fighting is taking place in largely inaccessible terrain in tough winter conditions.
The US and the EU fear a prolonged military campaign inside Iraq would raise the risk of serious clashes between Turkish and Iraqi Kurdish forces and also undermine the fragile government in Baghdad.
Washington is sharing intelligence with NATO ally Turkey on PKK movements in Iraq.
It has urged Turkey to limit the campaign to precise rebel targets and to bring it to a swift conclusion.
Iraq's foreign minister criticised the bombing of several bridges and said Baghdad did not approve of Turkey's offensive.
