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Turkish leader praises US help against Kurd rebels: Anatolia

ANKARA, Dec 26, 2007 (AFP) - President Abdullah Gul on Wednesday praised US intelligence assistance for Turkish air raids against Kurdish rebels in Iraq, saying both NATO allies were "satisfied" with the cooperation, Anatolia news agency reported.

"Things are going on well at the moment. Intelligence is being shared," he said at a reception here as the Turkish military confirmed their third bombing raid this month against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) targets in northern Iraq.

Gul was quoted as saying that the US support "befits our alliance" and added: "Both of us are satisfied. This is how it should be. We could have come to this point earlier."

The Pentagon said last week a coordination centre was set up in Ankara where Turkish and US military officials were working to share intelligence on PKK movements in Kurdish-run northern Iraq.

The centre was set up after US President George W. Bush promised in November to supply Ankara with "real-time" intelligence on the PKK, listed as a terrorist group by much of the international community.

The pledge was seen as a US approval of limited Turkish military action in northern Iraq to head off the threat of a large-scale incursion that may destabilise a relatively quiet region in Iraq and fuel tensions between two US allies -- the Iraqi Kurds and NATO member Turkey.

Ankara in the past had complained of US inaction against the rebels in northern Iraq.