(15 Oct 2007)
1. Wide of mountainous area near Iraqi border
2. Woman walking along track
3. Pan of mountains
4. Various of Turkish Armoured Personnel Carriers travelling along roads
5. Various of soldiers walking in road
STORYLINE
Turkish troops were seen along the border with Iraq on Monday as reports said that Turkey's Cabinet was expected to sign a motion seeking parliamentary authorisation for a cross-border offensive into northern Iraq to fight Kurdish rebels.
A Kurdish rebel commander has warned Turkey it would encounter tough resistance and a dragged-out, Vietnam-style conflict, if it launched a large-scale offensive against the Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq.
An aggressive incursion by the United States ally into Iraq would prompt the rebels to retaliate with protracted and bloody attacks, said the head of the armed wing of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK on Saturday.
The PKK has been fighting for autonomy in southeast Turkey since 1984 and the conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives.
Turkey says the rebels use Iraqi Kurdish territory as a safe haven, but Iraqi and Kurdish authorities reject the claim.
Tensions along the border have increased in recent weeks as Turkish parliament debates authorising a military campaign into northern Iraq to root out rebels who seek a unified, independent nation for Kurds in the region.
The United States opposes a unilateral Turkish action in Iraq, fearing it could destabilise a relatively peaceful part of the country.
For months, Turkey has pressed Iraq and the United States to crack down on the PKK, which Ankara accuses of launching attacks in Turkey from bases in northern Iraq.
In Turkey, Kurdish rebels killed more than 15 Turkish soldiers in the past week and are blamed for an ambush that killed 12 people the week before.
The Turkish government responded to the deaths by announcing tougher measures against the PKK rebels.
US officials said last week that there are about 60-thousand Turkish troops along the country's southern border with Iraq, even though the US military has not seen activity to suggest an imminent offensive against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq.
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