"If the diplomatic means do not work, we are not ruling out military options...We are determined to counteract terrorism. Parliament granted us the necessary powers," Ali Babacan said.
Turkey's military said on Monday that eight troops were missing following clashes with Kurdish insurgents on the Iraqi border, and that 34 militants had been killed, and at least 12 Turkish servicemen were killed on Sunday in an ambush by Kurdish militants. The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) says it is holding the missing Turkish soldiers hostage.
The move came four days after the Turkish parliament sanctioned military cross-border operations against around 3,500 PKK insurgents believed to be based in Iraq, following an earlier government request.
The PKK, listed by the U.S., NATO and the EU as a terrorist organization, has been fighting for autonomy status in southeast Turkey for nearly 25 years, and has recently intensified attacks along the Iraqi border. The conflict has so far claimed about 40,000 lives.
