Turkey, Iraq sign deal on Kurdish rebels

ANKARA, Turkey - Turkey and Iraq agreed Friday to cooperate in cracking down on separatist Kurdish rebels who have been attacking Turkey from bases in Iraq. But Iraq rebuffed a key Turkish demand that its troops be allowed to cross the border to pursue fleeing rebels.

The agreement signed by Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani and Turkish Interior Minister Besir Atalay addresses a major source of tension between the neighboring countries. They pledged to work together to fight terrorist groups by stopping financial and logistic support, capturing and extraditing members and preventing propaganda.

"It was not possible to reach a deal on chasing Kurdish rebels. However we hope this issue will be solved in the future," Atalay told reporters after the signing. "We are expecting this cooperation against terrorism to be broadened as much as possible."

Turkey has become increasingly frustrated with the U.S. for failing to live up to promises to tackle separatist guerrillas from the Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK, which is considered a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union.

The Turkish government has threatened to stage a military incursion into northern Iraq to eradicate rebel bases there if U.S. or Iraqi forces fail to take action. Earlier this year, Turkey massed troops on its rugged border with Iraq.

Turkish troops killed 20 rebels in operations over the past 15 days in Sirnak province, bordering Iraq, authorities said Friday. No soldiers were killed, they said.

Al-Bolani hailed the deal as an important step in countering terrorism.

"Iraq will not allow Kurdish rebels targeting Turkey," he said.

Iraq was under pressure to reject the Turkish demand from the local Iraqi Kurdish administration which strongly opposes any Turkish military intervention in northern Iraq.

Al-Bolani said discussions on the demand to allow pursuit of the rebels would continue, adding Iraq wanted to evaluate the best mechanism to tackle the problem.

A prominent Kurdish lawmaker in Iraq expressed concern over the idea on Thursday.

"The problem should be solved through political means, not by slaughtering more Kurds," said Mahmoud Othman, who is close to Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, also a Kurd. "Violence only breeds violence."

On Thursday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the United States to act against Kurdish rebels who have escalated attacks on his country from bases in Iraq, warning that continued inaction was harming U.S. relations with its key Muslim ally.

Kurdish guerrillas have been fighting for autonomy in southeast Turkey since 1984 in a conflict has killed tens of thousands of people. There have been reports of occasional Turkish shelling of rebel positions inside Iraq, and commandos are believed to periodically conduct "hot pursuit" missions across the border.

Turkey staged a series of major cross-border operations in the 1990s against suspected rebel hide-outs in the mountains.