Turkish military says it kills 41 Kurdish rebels in Iraq

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
¤ By SELCAN HACAOGLU Associated Press Writer (AP) _ Turkey's military said it had killed 41 more separatist Kurdish rebels in clashes in northern Iraq, raising the reported guerrilla death toll in a cross-border operation to 153. Rebels disputed the claim and warned that Turkey had entered a conflict that it cannot win. A statement posted on the military's Web site Monday also said two more soldiers were killed in fighting, but gave no details. The deaths would bring the total Turkish military fatalities since the start of the incursion Thursday to 17. It said the military had hit some 30 targets of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, in a 24-hour period. The military did not say whether it had counted the bodies of the slain rebels, and there was no way to independently verify the claim. In past clashes, Turkish troops have sometimes left the bodies of guerrillas in the remote areas where they were killed, fearing they could be booby trapped. Turkish fatalities are easier to document because slain soldiers receive elaborate burials that are usually attended by officials and military officers. The rebels said Turkey could not win the conflict.