PKK claim helicopter shot down in Turkish offensive
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Sunday, 24, Feb 2008 10:39
The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Iraq has claimed to have shot down a military helicopter as Turkey's cross-border raid into Iraq continues.
A spokesperson for the organisation, which has been labelled a terrorist group by the US and European Union, also told the Reuters news agency that clashes were ongoing and claimed to have killed over 20 Turkish soldiers.
The Turkish military has acknowledged the deaths of seven soldiers and claimed to have killed 79 PKK members.
Meanwhile, US defence secretary Robert Gates has urged Turkey to keep its operations short.
He told reporters in Australia that he would prefer operations to be as brief as possible and urged Turkish leaders to use measures other than military force as well to fight the PKK.
Mr Gates said: "These economic and political measures are really important because after a certain point people become inured to military attacks.
"And if you don't blend them with these kinds of non-military initiatives then at a certain point the military efforts become less and less effective," he added.
Speaking about the operation yesterday, Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: "The target, purpose, size and parameters of this operation are limited. Our armed forces will come back in the shortest time possible as soon as they achieve their objectives," he added.
The country's parliament authorised attacks into Iraq last October and since then numerous air strikes have been carried out in Iraq to target the PKK. United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon has called for restraint in the Turkish army's operations and for international boundaries to be respected.