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Turkey marks out 'security zones' in PKK campaign

ANKARA, March 8, 2008 (AFP) - The Turkish army said Saturday it has carved out six temporary "security zones" along the southeastern border with Iraq, to be patrolled by the military for three months from June 11.

The draconian measure -- which generals say is designed to prevent Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters from crossing the border -- is being applied in the rural mountainous provinces of Siirt, Sirnak and Hakkari.

Turkey has launched several air raids since mid-December -- plus a week-long ground incursion into Iraq at the end of February -- against the PKK, which Ankara and much of the international community regards as a terrorist group.

The PKK has been fighting for self-rule in Kurdish-majority southeastern Turkey since 1984 in a conflict that has claimed more than 37,000 lives.

Ankara estimates that around 4,000 PKK rebels are taking refuge in Iraq's autonomous northern Kurdish region.