Turkish troops enter northern Iraq in pursuit of Kurdish rebels

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Source: The Guardian

Turkish commandos supported by bombers and helicopter gunships have crossed into northern Iraq in pursuit of Kurdish guerrillas who killed 26 soldiers and wounded at least 18 others in co-ordinated attacks on military outposts.

Fifteen militants from the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' party) were killed when Turkish troops advanced about two miles into Iraqi territory, in Turkey's first major ground offensive in the region since 2008.

"No one should forget that those who make us suffer this pain will be made to suffer even stronger," President Abdullah Gül said on Wednesday. "They will see that the vengeance for these attacks will be immense."

The PKK told the Associated Press that clashes were taking place in two separate areas close to the mountainous Iraqi-Turkish border.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/19/turkish-troops-iraq-kurdish-rebels