Thousands of Kurds have rallied in northern Iraq to protest a Turkish parliament decision authorizing military incursions against Kurdish rebels in Iraq.

Some 40,000 strong Turkish troops comprising helicopter, artillery and special forces units are ready to launch a full-scale operation against Kurdish militants on the Iraqi border, Turkish media reported.

Turkey's Parliament has resoundingly approved a motion allowing troops to cross into northern Iraq to hunt down Kurdish rebels there. More than 500 members of Turkey's Parliament approved the motion that authorises Turkish troops to target the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters there.

The Iraqi Government has called for "urgent negotiations" over Turkey's threat to carry out cross-border raids against Kurdish rebels.

Turkey's Cabinet meets Monday to prepare a motion seeking parliamentary approval for a military operation in northern Iraq to fight Kurdish rebels.

Kurdish rebels fighting for an independent homeland in south-eastern Turkey said they were moving back into Turkey from the mountains of northern Iraq and would target politicians and police.

Turkey's army has prepared several scenarios of a trans-border operation in north Iraq to counter Kurdish insurgents, which the government will pass to parliament on Thursday, a local newspaper said.

Pressure is growing in Turkey to launch a cross-border raid on Kurdish separatists in northern Iraq, following a deadly attack on Turkish soldiers.

Turkey's Cabinet meets Monday to discuss its response to a Kurdish rebel attack that killed 13 soldiers in southeastern Turkey, near the border with Iraq.

Turkish media say troops have killed two Kurdish rebels in a battle in southeastern Turkey near the Iraqi border. Turkish news agency Anatolia reports the fighting began when rebels attacked a military post Sunday in Hakkari province.

Officials and media reports say Turkey and Iraq have agreed on an accord that reportedly would allow Turkish forces to cross into Iraq to pursue Kurdish separatists.

Iranian artillery barrages against Kurdish guerrilla positions in border areas were strongly criticized by Iraq Thursday. It was said that if such shelling continued it would negatively effect relations between the two neighboring countries.