ANKARA, Turkey - Hundreds of Turkish troops crossed into northern Iraq on Wednesday in pursuit of Kurdish guerrillas who raid Turkey from hideouts there, Turkish security officials and an Iraqi Kurdish official said, amid fears that Turkey might stage a bigger incursion that could lead to conflict with U.S.-backed Iraqi Kurds.
Three Turkish officials described the operation as a "hot pursuit" raid that was limited in scope, and one of them said troops returned to their bases by the end of the day. Turkey has conducted such brief raids in the past, but the latest incident comes as rebels escalate attacks in their decades-old fight for autonomy in southeast Turkey.
The security officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, and Turkey's foreign minister denied forces had ever entered Iraq.
Turkish authorities rarely acknowledge such military operations against the rebel PKK group, which were more frequent before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Despite the conflicting accounts, the reports of activity along the border were likely to heighten debate over whether Turkey is planning a large-scale incursion - the last such operation was in 1997, and involved 50,000 troops - that could destabilize northern Iraq.
Turkish leaders say they are considering it, and have sent more troops and equipment to the frontier with Iraq. But they want the United States and Iraqi Kurds to act on their appeals for a crackdown on separatist fighters, who raid southeast Turkey after resting, training and resupplying in Iraq.....
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