Turks warn: Quell rebels or we will

— Turkey delivered a tough message to Iraq and Western allies Tuesday: A cross-border attack on Kurd guerrilla bases will happen unless the U.S.-backed government in the Iraqi north cracks down soon.

"We cannot wait forever," Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned during a visit to London, saying his government had no choice but to consider "the military dimension."

As Erdogan's government began the diplomatic offensive in hopes of avoiding a conflict that could damage its ties with the West as well as Arab states, the looming possibility of a Turkish military driveinto one of Iraq's few peaceful regions appeared to be having an impact.

Washington issued its most direct demand yet for anti-rebel measures from Iraqi Kurds, who hold effective autonomy over territory where the Turkish Kurd rebels have camps, and Iraq's prime minister ordered the closure of all of the guerrilla movement's offices in Iraq.

Turks have grown skeptical of repeated pledges from the U.S. and Iraq to tackle the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party, the PKK, so Erdogan went to London and his Cabinet ministers spread across the Middle East to turn up the heat on the Americans and Iraqis to act.

Turkey next month hosts regional foreign ministers at a meeting on Iraq. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has proposed a separate meeting among the U.S., Iraq and Turkey during the Nov. 2-3 conference, and Turkey's premier is expected to meet with President Bush in Washington on Nov. 5.

Public anger in Turkey had been high over a surge in rebel attacks in recent weeks and then rose after a guerrilla ambush Sunday killed 12 soldiers and left eight more missing.

The PKK claimed it captured the eight soldiers, and a Kurdish Web site posted photographs Tuesday of what it said were the captives.

Erdogan's government, which has not confirmed that the troops were captured, ordered Turkish television and radio on Tuesday to tone down its coverage of the ambush story.

The U.N. refugee agency said Tuesday that the number of Iraqis fleeing their homes because of violence and insecurity - at least 1,000 each day - could increase with the threats of cross-border attacks.

More than 800,000 Iraqis have sought shelter in the northern Kurdish region, which has been mostly spared widespread violence since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. But with tensions in that region mounting, concerns are growing about a possible new refugee crisis.

TURKS VOICE IMPATIENCE

For a second-straight day, tens of thousands were in Turkey's streets to urge the government to stop holding back the army.

"Our patience is running out," said Ilhan Keskes, a mourner at a funeral for one of the slain soldiers east of the capital, Ankara. "The government must do something before the nation explodes."

Erdogan also voiced impatience during his stop in Britain, an ally of NATO member Turkey.

"From this point forward, we're also looking at the military dimension," Erdogan said in London, where British Prime Minister Gordon Brown expressed appreciation for what he called Turkey's restraint in the face of escalating guerrilla attacks.

Erdogan said Turkey had long sought a peaceful solution but had met with no success.

The buildup of troops along the border with Iraq continued, with Turkish military helicopters flying commando units into the area. Tens of thousands of soldiers are already deployed in the border region.

Visiting Baghdad, Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said Turkey expected international support for its fight against terrorism and ruled out the possibility of a truce with the PKK, which has been labeled a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union.

At the Nov. 5 meeting with Bush in Washington, Erdogan is expected to reiterate demands that Iraq's government close off supply lines to the PKK and take other measures to reduce the group's effectiveness, possibly including military action.

Iraq's government ordered the closure of PKK offices and promised to curb rebel movements and block funds. The statement, issued by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's office, contradicted repeated assertions by Iraqi officials that the PKK's presence in Iraq was restricted to inaccessible parts of the north that could not be reached by authorities.

While in London, Erdogan raised the prospect of sanctions against Iraq, saying Turkey could cut off some exports, accordingto Turkey's state-run Anatolia news agency.

CIVILIAN DEATHS REPORTED

In a Sunni stronghold north of Baghdad on Tuesday, a U.S. helicopter opened fire on men seen planting roadside bomb, then chased them into a nearby house and continued to shoot, killing 11 Iraqis, including five women and one child, the military said.

Neighbors and relatives of those killed said 14 civilians were killed.

The attack began after men were seen placing bombs near the volatile city 60 miles north of Baghdad, said Maj. Peggy Kageleiry, a U.S. military spokesman.

A known member of a roadside bomb-making network was among five military-age men who were killed, but the dead also included five women and one child, the military said in a statement that cited Iraqi sources. The statement said the circumstances surrounding the airstrike were under review.

U.S. and Iraqi forces, meanwhile, banned vehicles, motorcycles and bicycles in the streets of the Anbar provincial capital of Ramadi as hundreds of Iraqi police, soldiers and politicians gathered to commemorate the death of Sheik Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, the founder of the first anti-al-Qaida group of Sunni tribal leaders. He was assassinated by a bomb Sept. 13.

Sheik Ahmed Abu Risha, Abdul-Sattar's brother, watched the parade from a tower.

"Today is the day we won, the day we pronounced victory," he said in a speech read by a spokesman. "We finally got rid of those bad people, the ones who set us back a million years."

In southern Iraq, clashes broke out between Iraqi security forces and fighters from the Mahdi Army militia that is nominally loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

The fighting began after a car carrying militiamen was stopped at a checkpoint in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, 340 miles southeast of Baghdad, according to police and local officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared retribution.

Hours later, Mahdi Army fighters attacked several other army and police checkpoints in the city, briefly detaining three Iraqi soldiers, the officials said. Police later said the situation was under control.

An Iraqi vice president, meanwhile, intensified his public dispute with the prime minister Tuesday, saying the country's presidential council had the authority to block the executions of Saddam Hussein's cousin, known as "Chemical Ali," and two other former officials.

Withholding ratification amounts to granting a stay of the execution, said Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi. He expressed surprise that the court, which upheld the sentences last month, had not yet presented a copy of its verdict to the three-man presidential council for endorsement.

The council is made up of President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, and two vice presidents: the Sunni Arab al-Hashemi and Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a Shiite.

Al-Hashemi said a Sept. 4 request by al-Maliki, a Shiite, for the three to be handed over to Iraqi authorities in preparation for their execution was unconstitutional, insisting that only the presidential council had the power to endorse a death sentence.

Information for this article was contributed by Anne Gearan, Raphael G. Satter, Hamza Hendawi, Kim Gamel and Kim Kurtis of The Associated Press.

Front Section, Pages 1, 9 on 10/24/2007

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