Turkey Presses Iraqis After Attack by Rebels

In this Feb. 23, 2008 file photo, Turkish soldiers search for mines as they patrol to secure a main road in Senoba, Sirnak, at the border with Iraq. Fighting between Kurdish rebels and Turkey's army in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq has killed 15 soldiers and at least 23 insurgents, the military said in Ankara, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2008, in the deadliest battle between the longtime enemies this year. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici, File) (Burhan Ozbilici - AP)

An Iraqi government spokesman said the Kurdish rebels were trying to increase tension between the two countries.

"The Iraqi government calls upon the Turkish government to deal with this terrorist activity with prudence and self-restraint, so as to not allow the enemies of Iraq and Turkey to achieve their goal," the spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, said in a statement.

Iraq's central government, wary of adding to the country's many internal conflicts, has not publicly pressed Iraqi Kurdish officials for campaigns against PKK fighters in the north.

A pro-Kurdish Web site, Firat, carried what it said was a PKK statement saying the rebel attack was in retaliation for the Turkish military's violation of a unilateral rebel truce declared for this week's Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

Turkish warplanes bombed suspected rebel outposts in northern Iraq near the Iranian border earlier this past week.

The United States has increased the sharing of intelligence data with Turkey, a NATO ally, to help the Turks better pinpoint rebels in northern Iraq. Turkey has said the cooperation has allowed more effective strikes.

Special correspondent Zehra Ayman contributed to this report.