Turkey ready to stage new raids against PKK in northern Iraq

ANKARA (AFP) - Turkey said Friday it would continue its military operations against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, after several attacks this month against members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

"It was decided that the operations carried out with success by our armed forces will be pursued with determination," the country's national security council (MGK) said in a statement published on its Internet site.

The council claimed Turkish forces had inflicted heavy losses against the PKK rebels and largely destroyed their supply and communications systems, while "the zones with civilian populations have not experienced any losses."

Officials in Kurdish-run northern Iraq said a strike Wednesday targeted deserted villages along the border, but the extent of the damage was not immediately known.