The Turkish army said on Monday it had captured 100 Kurdish rebels near the border. Monday's fighting coincided with the 84th anniversary of the Turkish Republic, which the country marked with large-scale military parades.
Earlier in the day, another soldier died in east-central Turkey's Tunceli Province after stepping on mine believed to have been planted by Kurdish militants.
Turkey's parliament sanctioned two weeks ago military cross-border operations against the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), based in northern Iraq, following an earlier government request and despite opposition from Washington and Baghdad. Turkey has now amassed up to 150,000 troops in anticipation of a major cross-border military operation against around 3,500 PKK insurgents based in Iraq.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who earlier said Turkey would use the military option against the Iraq-based Kurdish rebels whenever it is needed and regardless of international pressure, will travel to Washington on November 5 to discuss the current crisis with U.S. officials.
The PKK, classed 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. The conflict has so far claimed about 40,000 lives, including 80 Kurdish militants killed in special operations conducted by the Turkish army near the border with Iraq last week.
