The fighting has prompted Turkish President Abdullah Gul to postpone his plan to visit Africa this week.

Iraq's government is urging Turkey to withdraw its troops "as soon as possible" from northern Iraq. Iraqi government officials say the Turkish military action threatens Iraq's sovereignty.

Turkey says the offensive in northern Iraq is intended to stop Kurdistan Workers Party rebels from attacking Turkish civilians.

As of Sunday, the Turkish military said 112 rebels and 15 Turkish soldiers had died in the operation. The rebels have not disclosed their losses.

PKK rebels say Turkey has suffered more casualties than it is reporting.

No civilian deaths have been reported, but Iraq's Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari, has said Turkey has destroyed five bridges.

The prime minister of the regional government in Iraqi Kurdistan, Nechirvan Barzani, says that by attacking Kurdish infrastructure, Turkey appears to be trying to broaden the conflict. The Kurdish region's president, Massud Barzani, has appealed to President Bush to end the violence.

In Ankara, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pledged Turkish forces will withdraw once they destroy the PKK's support network. Mr. Erdogan says his forces' only target is "PKK terror."

The outlawed PKK has been fighting for autonomy in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast since 1984. More than 30,000 people have died in the violence.

Source: By VOA News