ANKARA, Oct 7: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened on Tuesday to launch an incursion into northern Iraq to target Kurdish rebels if necessary, after a bloody attack last week left 17 soldiers dead.

“The sole target of a possible cross-border operation will be the terrorist organization,” Erdogan told lawmakers from his ruling party, referring to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Such an operation will be carried out “if need be, at the right time and under the right conditions with a view of obtaining the right result,” Erdogan added.

He said a possible incursion would not target either Iraqi civilians or Iraq’s unity and integrity, but underlined that his government was determined to protect itself.

“Turkey is in a position of self-defence when it comes to terrorism.

Everyone should understand this,” Erdogan said a day before parliament is set to vote on extending by one-year the government’s mandate to order cross-border strikes.

The Turkish leaders also warned Iraqi Kurds to side with Turkey in combatting PKK rebels who use the autonomous north of Iraq as a springboard for attacks in Turkish territory.

“The best choice for the regional administration of northern Iraq is to cooperate with us against terrorist elements because the terrorist organization is a cause of regional unrest and tension,” Erdogan said of the PKK, which is also considered a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union.

“It is inevitable for those who cannot put a barrier between themselves and terrorism to be adversely affected by the struggle against terrorism,” he added.

Turkey has long accused the Iraqi Kurds of tolerating the PKK on their territory where, it says, the militants enjoy freedom of movement and easily obtain weapons and explosives.

Iraqi authorities have repeatedly pledged to curb the PKK, but say the group takes refuge in mountainous regions to which access is difficult.—AFP