Earlier also the United States has urged Turkey to end its military offensive in northern Iraq as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile Turkey has refused to set a definite timetable to withdraw its troops from northern Iraq.

Senior Turkish envoy Ahmet Davutoglu told this at a news conference in Baghdad on Wednesday that talks with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari.

He said that Turkey's objective and mission is clear and there is no timetable until the terrorist bases are eliminated.

Tensions are growing between the Iraqi government in Baghdad and Turkey over the issue.

Northern Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region's lawmakers have authorized their military to intervene if Turkish forces bring their battle into civilian areas. The move has increased fears that the conflict may destabilize relatively peaceful region of Iraq.

Ankara charges the separatist group for the deaths of more than 32,000 people since the early 1980s when the PKK began its fight for independence or autonomy for the mainly Kurdish-populated south-east of Turkey.

Earlier, the clashes between Turkish troops and Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) fighters in northern Iraq claimed the life of 77 PKK guerrillas and five Turkish soldiers.

According to the Turkish general staff a total of 230 PKK fighters have been killed after the recent ground offensive but PKK have refused to accept the Turkish military's figures.

Source: DDNEWS