Turkish jets bomb Kurdish targets in Iraq, Turkey

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ANKARA, (Turkey), Oct 7(AP): Turkish warplanes bombed suspected Kurdish rebel positions in northern Iraq and southeast Turkey Tuesday, in new air strikes responding to an attack that killed 17 soldiers at a military outpost four days ago.
It was the fourth round of air strikes on Kurdish positions since Friday's attack when rebels fired mortar rounds and artillery from Iraq at a military outpost in a Turkish valley.
The attack has caused outrage in Turkey and a nationalist opposition leader called on the government to immediately send ground troops across the border to chase the rebels who strike at Turkey from Iraqi territory.
Devlet Bahceli, the leader of the Nationalist Action Party, also demanded that Turkey's leaders set up a security zone inside Iraq that would allow the military to better patrol the border and prevent rebel infiltration. The Turkish-Iraqi border lies on a rugged, mountainous strip that is difficult to control.
"The government must immediately show the political determination for a cross-border operation," Bahceli said in a speech to parliament. "Turkey must set up a security zone to prevent infiltration from the north of Iraq."
The military said its fighter jets attacked 21 rebel positions early Tuesday in Iraq's Avasin Baysan region and Turkey's Iki Yaka and Buzul Dagi mountains that border Iraq.
Friday's attack touched off the deadliest battle between Turkish troops and Kurdish rebels in eight months. At least 23 rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, were also killed.
Turkish warplanes have been striking at Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq for the past year but stepped up attacks after the assault on the outpost. In February, Turkish ground troops crossed into Iraqi territory for a weeklong operation against the rebels.Parliament is scheduled to vote Wednesday on whether to extend by another year the military's authority to carry out operations in northern Iraq. The current mandate expires Oct. 17.