Ankara - Turkish troops were on Monday advancing on the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) headquarters located in the Qandil Mountains near the Iraqi border with Iran, Turkish newspapers reported. PKK camps in the regions of Zap and Cemco Valley had been destroyed over the weekend and now commandos backed by F-16 warplanes were targeting the PKK's Qandil base, Hurriyet newspaper reported.
The death toll since Turkey launched its incursion into Iraq on Thursday night stood at 127, according to a statement released Sunday by the Turkish General Staff. The statement said 112 PKK fighters and 15 Turkish soldiers had been killed. The PKK have refused to accept the figures.
"The clashes are continuing in three different regions. Our units' operations in difficult terrain and weather conditions will continue with the same bravery and determination until they reach their planned targets," the Turkish military statement said.
The statement said that a helicopter had "gone down" inside Iraq near the Turkish border but said it was not known why and that specialist technicians had gone to the site.
The PKK had earlier claimed that it had shot down a Cobra attack helicopter in in Sham Gihu, 65 kilometres north-east of the Amadiyah region in Duhuk. PKK spokesman Ahmed Denees told Deutsche Presse- Agentur
